


And Me.

by speed_rac3r



Series: The Outcasts of Vulkos County [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Assault, Attempted Sexual Assault, Multi, Omega Verse, Original Character(s), Sexual Assault, Violence, near rape
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-05-23 14:47:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14936316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/speed_rac3r/pseuds/speed_rac3r
Summary: A transgender Alpha learns to accept himself for who he his, and finds a mate who loves him unconditionally.





	1. The Doll

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Reikimon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reikimon/gifts), [Caesura_Selluivan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caesura_Selluivan/gifts), [@Cinnachilla](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=%40Cinnachilla).



In the white-washed corridors of Phiri Elementary’s medical wing, a dark-haired boy sits anxiously in one of the many navy blue chairs lined up against the wall. He is nervous, as indicated by the drumming of his fingers on the chair’s surface and the rapid swinging of his legs.

 

He flinches every time the kids called in before him leave, each wearing a wristband indicating what result the psychologists chose for them. The three possible bands were red, blue, and green; each corresponding to the three different genders: Alpha, Beta, and Omega respectively. For some reason, the boy fears that he won’t get the red band.

 

The silver door swings open, and a conservatively-dressed nurse steps out. She glances down at her clipboard, and calls out, “William Kiyabu?”

 

The boy swallows before scooting off of the chair and approaching the nurse. She flashes him a smile, greets him with a “hello!”, and takes him by the hand to guide him into the room.

 

“Do you go by any nicknames, William?”

 

He can barely bring himself to speak at an audible level, “Will is fine.”

 

“Okay, Will,” She stops at a door labelled 5B, and opens it for him. “Just go into this room here, and wait for a few more minutes. You’ll hear someone talk to you over the speaker. You can tell them your name, feel free to use the nickname you go by, okay?”

 

Will only nods at her before slowly walking through the doorway and into the room. As the door closes behind him, he looks around at the room’s carpet, miniature bookshelf, and assortment of toys. It doesn’t look any different from the playtime center in his normal classroom, but the eerily quiet atmosphere and smell of detergent made it feel off-putting.

 

A voice on the intercom snaps Will out of his thoughts, “Good morning!”

 

“G-Good morning…”

 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you there.”

 

“It’s okay,” Will replies, staring up at the speaker on the higher corner of the wall. “Did you want my name?”

 

“Yes please,” A different voice responds this time, Will assumes it’s a man. “Give us your first and last name.”

 

“My name is William Kiyabu,” He answers promptly, “But I go by Will.”

 

“Okay, Will,” _Another voice,_ Will thinks to himself. _It’s a high-pitched lady._ “We’re going to give you a test. But it’s not like your regular tests, there’s no right or wrong answer. Understand?”

 

The boy nods.

 

“Although we can see you nodding your head, Will,” The voice that greeted him earlier spoke again. “Please voice your answers, we do it to make sure we don’t misunderstand you.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Will sheepishly bows his head slightly. “Yes, I understand.”

 

“Good. The test will now begin. Just remember, Will, be yourself. There’s no wrong or right way to act in this test.”

 

“Yes.” He exhales softly, trying to fight off his nervousness about being watched. “Be myself.”

 

Tired of standing, Will finds a spot on the floor to sit. A few moments later, the nurse who took him into the room, comes in holding something wrapped in a cloth.

 

“Here you are, Will.” She places the object next to Will. “This is a doll for you to play with. Do whatever you’d like with it, okay?”

 

“Oh…” He bows his head in thanks. “Thank you.”

 

The nurse flashes him yet another warm smile before leaving the room once more. As soon as she’s gone, Will grabs the doll, and takes off the cloth covering it.

 

Upon seeing the doll, he is at a loss for words. It has long blonde hair that feels like satin upon touch, and Will can’t help but keep running his fingers down the doll’s smooth, porcelain skin.

 

“You’re very pretty…” He blushes as he looks into the doll’s blue eyes. Suddenly, he feels the urge to keep the doll close. Immediately, Will pulls the doll close to his chest and looks around warily. “Don’t worry. I won’t let anyone take you. I’ll take good care of you, and you can be my husband. I won’t be like the other Alphas, though...I kinda don’t like being rough...”

 

As he continues to talk to the doll, the group of psychologists that spoke to Will earlier are chattering amongst themselves as they watch him from a glass window he cannot see. The group consisted of two women and two men, one who did not speak to Will through the intercom at all. They are furiously tracking every single movement of his body, from the way his pupils dilated to how tightly Will’s fingers clenched around the doll’s arms.

 

“Look at these readings, Campbell.” The high-pitched lady Will had heard, a ginger-haired Beta woman, gestures to the Alpha man sitting next to her. “Definitely Alpha. No Omega ever gets up to eighty Newtons, and Betas don’t peak past seventy-five.”

 

“It’s on the lower threshold for an Alpha, Pavlovina.” Campbell, the man whom Will heard on the intercom, replies. “If he is an Alpha, he must’ve been born a premie baby or something. Anything new on his mannerisms, Alemyuria?”

 

“The way he’s treating the doll is inconsistent with typical Alpha behavior,” Alemyuria, the voice that startled Will, keeps scribbling down notes her gaze completely centered on the boy. “He’s touching it gently, even if he may be squeezing it with a higher force than any Omega or Beta.”

 

“Even if it is gentle,” The fourth psychologist interjected. “It’s not enough to rule him as an Omega. Omegas treat the doll like their child, he should be breastfeeding or doing something that involves ‘nurturing’. Will’s not treating this thing like a child, he’s treating it like his _mate_.”

 

At this, the whole group fell silent.

 

“Richardson,” Alemyuria paused in her writing, and looked him straight in the eye. “How in the hell are we supposed to classify this boy if he acts like two genders instead of one?”

 

“We haven’t initiated the second phase yet,” Campbell points out. “We should do a proximity test and make more judgments based on those results.”

 

“If he is an Omega, he’ll have a fairly high tolerance in the second phase,” Pavlovina adds. “Omegas may be possessive of their children, but if the people around them pose no threat they show no signs of possessiveness if people aren’t directly taking their ‘child’. That, and even if they did show possessiveness, the intensity is nothing compared to an Alpha’s possessiveness.”

 

“Then it’s settled,” Richardson presses a button, and speaks into his headset. “Tamara, we’re initiating phase two. Bring in the group of kids and have them walk close to Will and his doll. Tell a couple of them to brush up against the doll on accident.”

 

Meanwhile, Will is holding the doll close to his chest and acting as a guard. Even though he knows it’s a doll, he can’t help but feel attached to it. Something in him was wired to make him protective of it, despite it not being a real person.

 

“I wonder,” He whispers into the doll’s ear. “Is there a person that looks just like you? If there is, I’d love to meet him. Maybe you’re a special doll, maybe you can grant wishes...”

 

“Hello, Will!” At this, Will’s head nearly snaps to the direction of the nurse’s voice. He suddenly realizes that he’s wrapped an arm completely around the doll, and the hairs on the back of his neck are erect, as if he were being in defense mode.

 

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you!” The lovely nurse opens the door, and to Will’s dismay, a group of children stroll into the room. “A group of kids needed to use this room for playtime, so we decided to lend them the room you’re in.”

 

“But my...” Will can’t even finish his question as one of the kids start walking towards him and his doll. Instinctively, he stands up, trying to appear taller and grips the doll even tighter.

 

“Don’t worry, Will,” The nurse gently reassures him. “It will only be for a few minutes.”

 

Will’s pulse is soaring. The kids keep coming close to him, too close for comfort. He knew how other kids treated dolls; they either beat them senseless or tossed them aside to get dirty. Will, on the other hand, knew how to take care of dolls; and this doll was _his_. The nurse gave it to him first, and she didn’t say he had to share.

 

At first, he just moves out of the way when someone passing by came near. But then, one of the children’s arm brushes up against the doll. _His doll_. They were walking fast, and Will could’ve sworn he saw the porcelain crack upon impact.

 

“His pulse is in the one hundreds,” Pavlovina reports, “Definitely more on the Alpha threshold.”

 

“His stance, too,” Alemyuria points with the end of her pencil. “Standing up to try to appear taller, clenching the doll tightly, and now with the kid who brushed up against the doll, he looks like he’s about to instigate a fight.”

 

“Watch where you’re going.” Will tries not to snap, but he can barely keep himself composed. “Dolls break easily.”

 

“Oh, sorry!” The boy apologizes before walking off to go play with the box of toy cars in another area of the playroom. Will remains silent, warily watching the boy leave before trying to find a spot isolated from the bustling crowd of children. Luckily, the nurse finally comes back and calls the children to leave the room.

 

“His results heavily lean towards Alpha,” Campbell sighs as he leans back a bit in his chair. “I already know how the third phase will play out.”

 

“We still have to check, regardless.” Pavlovina gestures to Richardson. “Tell Tamara to start the final phase of the test.”

 

Outside of the room, unbeknownst to Will, the nurse is wearing an earpiece allowing her to hear commands.

 

“Tamara,” Richardson speaks into his headset once more. “Send in someone to take away the doll from him. We’re close to a definitive conclusion now.”

 

“Understood.” Tamara responds, quietly gesturing a taller, slightly older Alpha boy to come to the door.

 

She whispers quietly, “Preston, I want you to take the doll from that boy in the room over there.”

 

The brown-haired boy stares at her dubiously, “Will we get in trouble if we fight?”

 

“No, it’ll be okay because it’s for a test. We’ll make sure it doesn’t go too far, I’ll be watching along with some other people.”

 

He nods, and Tamara opens the door for him. As soon as Preston enters the room, Will senses something is wrong. Clutching the doll with all the strength he could muster, he immediately stands up from the chair he was sitting on.

 

“You can’t have him.” Will growls, hoping his tone would deter the boy from coming any closer. Preston, doing as instructed, doesn’t listen to him. As soon as he is less than a foot away from Will, he lunges at the boy, trying to reach out and grab the doll from him.

 

Will instinctively reels back his left arm and jabs Preston in the chest with his right elbow. The other boy stumbles back, temporarily stunned, before getting back on his feet and charging at Will again. This time, he immobilizes Will’s only free arm, jerks him forward, and attempts to yank the doll from him.

 

Now in full defense mode, Will jerks Preston forward and headbutts him in the face. The two both groan in pain, but Will manages to keep it together and regain his grip on the doll. He then feigns a punch towards Preston’s face but goes for his stomach instead.

 

Caught off-guard, Preston barely lets out an _“oof!”_ before Will subsequently knees him in the face. A small “ _crack!”_ can be heard as Preston’s nose breaks as Will proceeds to pin him down and try landing more punches to incapacitate him. Unfortunately, as Will moves in with his right fist, Preston is able to move one of his hands out from Will’s legs and block his attack.

 

Will struggles to break from the other boy’s firm grip, and he can feel the weight shifting as Preston begins to find a way to topple him over. The next few seconds become a blur, it was as if he had stopped thinking.

 

CRACK!

  
  
At this, Will lurches backward in horror at the noise he heard. Confused, he looks down to see Preston with a swollen, bloody bruise up-side his head and bits of glass scattered over the floor. To Will’s horror, one side of the doll’s beautiful face is completely shattered.

 

“No!” Will chokes out. Oblivious to everything else going on, he frantically crawls over to the pieces of broken glass and tries to repair the doll’s face. As he desperately scoops up pieces and tries to force them together, Will is mumbling incoherent apologies like a mad man.

 

Tamara and a few other staff nurses have already stormed into the room, two tending to Preston’s wounds while she and the others try to get Will to drop the glass and let go of the doll. Upon them taking the doll from him, and prying the pieces of glass out of his hand, he begins screaming and crying.

 

The doctors watching from the hidden glass window are watching with deep concern. After a few minutes of tense silence, Alemyuria  turns to Richardson and snaps, “There is something _wrong_ with that boy.”

 

“He’s an Alpha.” Richardson replies flatly. “The glass won’t be an issue, it doesn’t look like he scrapped Preston too badly.”

 

At this, Alemyuria angrily storms up to him, “No ‘ _Alpha’_ , shows remorse like that. Hell, in my test I nearly broke the wrist of some dumb bitch who tried to take the doll away from me and I gave zero fucks!”

 

“Why would he hold onto the doll, too?” Campbell adds. “Alphas focus on the fight, they know holding onto the doll would handicap them!”

 

Richardson raises a hand to silence them, and gestures to look at the interaction going on outside.

 

“Will, honey, it’s okay. You’re okay, Preston’s going to be okay, too.”

 

A loud sniffle is heard from the young boy before he shakily asks, “And the doll?”

 

“Yes, sweetie, it’s just a doll.” Tamara flashes him a warm, reassuring smile. “We can fix it up.”

 

Will swallows down some more tears before continuing, “I’m still sorry.”

 

“Why is that, Will?”

 

“I promised I would treat the doll good, and not be like everyone else.”

 

Before Tamara can reply, Richardson speaks into her earpiece, “Ask him if he sees the doll as a child.”

 

“Is it because the doll is your baby, Will? Is that why you feel this way?”

 

“No!” Will shakes his head emphatically. “The doll is my husband. You don’t hurt husbands, or girl-husbands.”

 

Tamara nods, slowly processing his unusual reply, “I see. Well, Will, you were just trying to protect the doll, right?”

 

He only nods.

 

“Then there is nothing to be ashamed of. You protected your husband, and that’s what matters most.” She kneels down and places her hand on his shoulder. “Your mother should be proud of you, Will, you are a very good boy. Very mature for your age.”

 

Will only looks off to the side, eyeing the other staff members patching up the doll.

 

“C’mon now,” Tamara gently takes his hand. “Your parents are waiting for you outside. Just wait a bit with them, and we’ll give you the bracelet you get to wear when you go home.”

 

The boy limply follows her, giving the doll once last silent gaze before moving his attention to where the nurse was taking him.

 

“Alpha.” Richardson snaps before any of the other analysts can speak up. “Mark him as an Alpha and give the parents the red wristband.”

 

Pavlovina protests, “But, he...!”

 

“His unusually docile behavior?” Richardson cuts her off. “Tell them they may need to take him to a behavioral therapist for a possible mental disorder. They could probably figure out the reason behind his conflicting ‘Omega’ tendencies.”

 

The room is silent, and Richardson can sense that his colleagues aren’t keeping quiet because they agree, “Any _objections_?”

 

They shake their heads, write Will’s results on paper, add the special note Richardson ordered, and attach a red rubber bracelet wrapped in plastic for Will to wear. They knew Richardson had decades worth of research and experience with this job compared to them. He could easily do these tests in his sleep.

 

Tamara knocks on the door, to which Campbell opens it and hands her the clipboard with the rubber bracelet and results. She then goes outside, hands the paperwork and gift to Will’s parents, and they all exchange their well wishes and goodbyes.

 

Ichika Kiyabu, Will’s mother, tears the plastic wrap open and preps the red wristband as they leave the campus. As the family heads to the parked car, she hands Will the wristband, “Here, sweetie. You can wear this until they have you on record as an Alpha.”

 

Will, his eyes still swollen from crying, quietly takes the band and slips it over his right hand. Sensing that his son is still upset, Wilfred immediately walks up to him, kneels  down on one knee, and asks, “Now, Will, today’s a good day--you know why?”

 

“Because I’m an Alpha…” The boy responds dejectedly.

 

“ _¡Sí, como tu mamá!_ ” Wilfred smiles and flashes a playful glance at Ichika. “But right now, your papa can see that you’re being very sad on a happy day like this. And what do we have to do to get rid of that frown, _niño_?”

 

“Wait!” Will protests, knowing exactly what was to come. “Papa, don’t-!”

 

Immediately, the boy is scooped up by his father who proceeds to tickle him. As Will squirms to break free, he couldn’t stop the smile growing on his face. His mother joins in on the fun, jabbing at him in every ticklish spot his father wasn’t touching while pretending to be a threatening “tickle monstress.”  


“Uncle!” Will pleads for mercy. “I’m not sad now!” Despite this, his parents keep tickling him. “Uncle! _Tio! Oiji-san!_ Uncle!”

 

“Alright, Chica,” Wilfred grins affectionately as Ichika rolled her eyes upon hearing her pet name. “Does he pass the ‘Happiness Test’?”

 

“Well, he’s still smiling after we stopped,” She kisses Will on the cheek. “And he was good enough to use the languages he learned from his mama and papa, so I think he should be off the hook.”

 

“Alright, Will, you heard her, you’re off the hook from the Happiness Police for now!” His father dramatically scowls, doing a bad impersonation of a gruff movie cop. “But if we find you frowning again, you _know_ what’s gonna happen!”

 

“Okay, Papa, okay!” Will laughs as his father gives him a loving kiss on the forehead. Feeling much better, he eagerly takes the hands of both of his parents and squeals with delight as they swing him over the pavement cracks as they make their way to the car.

 

After arriving home, Ichika cooks dinner, and the Kiyabus engage in their nightly routine of playing board games with their son before he heads off to bed. As Wilfred follows Will to tell him a bedtime story and kiss him goodnight, Ichika sits down at her work desk and decides to sift through the file the nurse at Phiri handed her after she picked up her son.

 

Ichika's brows furrow as she reads the results of Will's test. The paper is divided into three sections, each filled with notes on Will's observed behavior and a possible diagnosis and recommendation of action. On several sections, many behaviors are labelled as ‘unusually low, may require further examination by a therapist’ or ‘inconclusive, subject shows some Omega tendencies despite overall Alpha behavior’.

 

Ichika may be an Alpha woman, but she knew her sense of motherly intuition was on-par to an Omega’s. Red flags were going off in her head, no child should have results so conflicting and ambiguous--especially if they were reported to have been an Alpha. To add fuel to the fire, there was even a written sticky on the report recommending that Will be tested for a disorder, with a phone number to a nearby clinic.

 

She knew she and Wilfred were middle class and could not afford much on the medical services side, but what if there was something wrong with her child? It would be better to catch this ahead of time, before it develops into something worse. Ichika always knew Will took after his father’s gentleness, could it really be a sign of something malignant?

 

“What a sweetheart!” Wilfred sighs happily as he heads back down the stairs. “My heart melts everytime he says ‘ _oyasuminasai’_! He’s definitely got your cuteness when it comes to talking, Chica.”

 

“ _Aa_.” Ichika replies, half-listening. She is focused on reading Will’s report, getting more and more concerned with each note from the analysts.

 

“Hey, Chica,” Wilfred walks up to her desk, looking at the report over her shoulder. “ _¿Qué pasa?_ ”

 

"I’m a little worried, dear." Ichika takes out a page with lots of notes written in red. "Look at this, they're saying he acted like both an Omega and an Alpha in some parts."

 

She begins to show him more pages, “Look, in the physical test he scored on the unusually lower percentile for an Alpha. And then they’ve wrote down here that Will was _crying_ after fighting over the doll. Alphas don’t feel guilty about being possessive over what’s theirs, this isn’t...”

 

"¡ _Ave Maria_ , Chica!" Wilfred groans as he wraps his arms around Ichika's shoulders. "You saw the video, William bashed the _cabrón's_ head in. I didn't do that on my test, and didn't you tell me you almost beat someone to death on yours?"

 

"Wilfred," As her lover starts kissing her nape, Ichika pushes him back a little and looks directly at him. " _Kiite kudasai_. If there is something wrong with our son, it is better to catch it now than later."

 

"Chica," Wilfred looks at her solemnly. "You and I moved away from your family because you didn't like the fact you couldn't be a 'girly Alpha'. And now, just 'cause Will is a ‘sensitive Alpha', you think we need to take him to see the doctor?"

 

At this, Ichika can only sigh--he made a good point.

 

"Now this is what I like," Wilfred, seeing that his wife has given in, continues kissing her nape. "Our son is asleep, which means I get to have my calm, happy Chica all for myself."

 

" _Yamete_!" Ichika responds half-jokingly as she kisses him back. "You're being awfully aggressive."

 

"I’m old, but I’ve still got my pheromones, _mi alma_." He grins as Ichika gets up from her chair and wraps her arms around his waist.

 

"I do too, _anata_." She begins kissing him passionately, slowly ushering him towards the couch. Wilfred wraps one of his legs around the back of hers, causing her to fall forward with him as he falls onto the couch.

 

" _Lo siento_ ," Wilfred lets out a small gasp as Ichika slips her hand under his shirt and gently begins touching his chest. "I just like feeling you on top of me."

 

" _Eto_ ...¿ _No te preocupes_?"

 

They both laugh at her clumsy pronunciation, resulting in more kisses and affectionate caressing as Ichika helps Wilfred undress. When they're down to their undergarments, Wilfred's legs curl around Ichika's torso.

 

"How do you say it?" He chuckles as he pulls her in closer. " _Irete_?"

 

"Haha, close enough." Ichika can't help but grin upon hearing her husband roll his r's without a second thought. She then leans in forward and whispers in his ear, " _Demo, shizuka ni shinasai_ ? We don't want to wake our _nemutteiru musuko_."

 

"Anything for you, Chica."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! Thank you so much for reading, this is my first Omegaverse romance story, so I’m sorry if some things seem rough around the edges. As you can see, there will be a handful of international dialect going on as Will has mixed heritage, so I will be providing translations at the end of these chapters (should they need any). 
> 
> Please feel free to provide me better translations, particularly for Spanish. It has been many years since I took Spanish so if anyone has any words that would fit better with the context please feel free to say so, it definitely helps me out! ^^
> 
> Special thanks to reiki, cae, and cinna for helping me with proof/editing.
> 
> Sí, como tu mamá -  Spanish for “Yes, like your mama!”
> 
> Chica - This has a double entendre, chica means girl in Spanish, but for this context it doubles for Wilfred’s pet name for Ichika (due to the way her name is pronounced).
> 
> Tio! / Oiji-san! - Both mean Uncle in Spanish and Japanese respectively. 
> 
> Oyasuminasai - Japanese for “goodnight!”. 
> 
> “Aa.” - Japanese equivalent for “yeah” (roughly). 
> 
> Anata - Literal Japanese translation is “you” but when used by wives it’s a term of endearment to their husbands.
> 
> ¿Qué pasa? - Spanish for “What’s wrong?”.
> 
> Ave Maria! - Spanish for “Virgin Mary!”, often used to express stress or excitement.
> 
> Cabrón - Spanish for “dumbass/bastard”.
> 
> Niño - Spanish for “boy”.
> 
> Kiite kudasai. - Japanese for “Please listen (to me)”.
> 
> Yamete! - Japanese for “Stop it!”.
> 
> Mi alma - Spanish for “my soul”, is used romantically with a person’s love interest.
> 
> Lo siento - Spanish for “I’m sorry”.
> 
> Eto - Japanese expression for “Um”.
> 
> ¿No te preocupes? - Spanish for “Do not worry!”
> 
> Irete - Japanese for “put it in” or “insert”.
> 
> Demo, shizuka ni shinasai. - Japanese for “But, please be quiet”.
> 
> Nemutteiru musuko - Japanese for “sleeping son”.


	2. Dystychiphobe

“C’mon, Will!” Aaron, an older Alpha boy, gives the smaller boy a playful shove. “The bottle spun on you, so you have to answer!”

 

“Honestly,” Will protests. “I don’t know what I like!”

 

William Kiyabu was now eleven and had made some friends over the years at Phiri Elementary. A clique of Alpha boys had invited him to join their group upon noticing his red band a week after his test results. Will, not being one to turn down the prospect of new friends, immediately accepted and had been sticking around with the group of boys since then. The clique consisted of six boys, but the ones Will talked with the most were Robbie, Aaron, and Ollie.

 

Aaron was the unofficial leader of the group, and often got into trouble for talking too much compared to the others. Robbie was a boy with dirty blonde hair who had trouble keeping his eyes off any girls he deemed pretty, while Ollie was the most introverted out of everyone in the group. Despite his unusually thin build, he could hold against his own just fine.

 

“You’re lying, Will!” Robbie wraps his arm around Will’s shoulder and eggs him on. “I’ve seen you passing a glance at some of the other guys.”

 

“W-well…” Will falters before sheepishly hunching his shoulders. “Um...I think that...”

 

Before he could answer, a thin-framed boy with shoulder-length hair passed by the clique. Enthralled by his appearance, Will couldn’t help but watch him leave the cafeteria.

 

“ _Ooh_!” Aaron cooes, “So you like Omegas, huh Will?”

 

“Oh,” Will tilts his head in confusion. “He’s an Omega?”

 

“Probably!” Robbie laughs. “Skinny guys like that are probably Omegas. They’ve got girl-like faces, too, but that guy was walking too fast for me to get a good look. Speaking of skinny guys, Owlie, did you get a good look it at him?”

 

“For the last time, quit calling me by that stupid name! It’s Ollie!” The small Alpha huffs in annoyance. “Anyway, yeah, I did. Definitely had a girl face, so he’s gotta be an Omega.”

 

“It’s only ‘cause you got twenty-twenty vision, Ollie!” Robbie grins. “It’s a compliment, y’know?”

 

After rolling his eyes at him, Ollie sits down next to Will and gestures him to look at a group of girls, “So you don’t think they’re cute at all, Will? I mean, you might as well like girls, if you like Omegas.”

 

The boy glances at the girls briefly, and then replies, “They’re okay, but I like guys better.”

 

At this, the whole clique bursts into laughter at Will’s straightforward answer.

 

“To each their own, y’all!” One of the boys interjects over the commotion. “To each their own!”

 

After lunch, Will found himself relaxing on the grass field as he watched two birds zip by and the flowers sway in the weak summer breeze. The members of his clique were out towards the playground playing a game of Red Rover. In the past, they would try to have Will play a game with them, but the boy never much cared for getting rough and tussling.

 

“Those kind of things are meant for serious things!” He had declared after trying out a round one day. “Like protecting your mate!” At first, he was chided a bit since most Alphas _loved_ rough-housing, but eventually the clique learned to leave him be.

 

Secretly, though, he was glad the Alpha clique bought his excuse. While it was true he would rough-house someone if they did try to harm his spouse, the main reason Will didn’t like playing rough was due to himself wincing whenever he would bruise someone up a little in the game. He had no idea why, but seeing minor scrapes and bruises on his friends as they tackled each other down made him feel uncomfortable. It was similar to the feelings he’d felt after hitting the other boy with the doll from his test seven years ago; he felt guilty, upset, and sick all at the same time.

 

This was especially the case whenever Will would hear one of his friends grunt in response to pain. It was because of the noises Ollie made after he tackled him onto the ground that Will opted out of playing Red Rover with the group. Maybe something was wrong with him, but Will couldn’t escape the fear he felt from seeing people in pain overall.  

 

“Hey, Will!” Aaron calls out from afar, before chucking a piece of dirt at him. At the last minute, Will notices the object flying toward him and quickly catches with cat-like reflexes. He then looks over in Aaron’s direction as the boy yells, “You missed out! We had a good game, five to zero!”

 

“Nice!” Will shouts back, flashing the Alpha a thumbs up. At this, the group laughs before resuming another round.

 

As his legs grow numb, Will decides he has sat down long enough and staggers up to take a walk around the playground by himself. He starts off by going the usual route, behind the playground near the back-alley of one the buildings leading to the fifth grader classes. As he casually glances at some growing dandelions on the grass surrounding the pavement, a small wind carries a ladybug causing it to land on his nose. Despite being eleven, Will can’t help but giggle like a little kid as he sticks out his finger and watches it crawl onto it nonchalantly.

 

“It’s really nice out today.” He mumbles to himself. As Will makes his way through the back alley, he hears something that makes his hair stand on end.

 

“STOP IT!” The voice is shrill and full of panic. “I DON’T WANT TO!”

 

Without thinking, Will immediately tries to find the source of the voice. Running as quick as he can muster, he zips through Phiri’s infamous labyrinth of back alleyways. Eventually, the noises of someone shouting and struggling lead him to one of the dead-ends located towards the back of the utility building. At this distance, he could now hear the perpetrators; they were a group of boys most likely fifth-grader Alphas by the sound of their voices.

 

Cautiously, he peeks around the corner of the wall to get an idea of who he is up against. There are a total of seven boys, two are restraining a thin-framed boy by his arms while the other four are gathered around him in a circle. One boy stands in the center, touching the restrained boy who clearly was not consenting to what was being done to him.

 

“C’mon, spread his legs already!” One of the onlookers calls out impatiently. “If he won’t do it for us, then we might as well make him do it!”

 

“Yeah!” Another one adds in. “I’ve only seen a heated Omega in my dad’s videos, I wanna see what one’s like in person!”

 

“LET ME GO!” The Omega screams, desperately trying to resist their leader’s forceful assault and break free. It serves him no use as the two Alphas holding him have a strong grip, and their leader is already stripping him down naked with little to no effort. “STOP IT!”

 

“Relax, _slut_.” Their leader snaps, grabbing the Omega by his hair and licking his nape. “You know you want some anyway, we’re just trying to give you a helping hand. So quit yapping or I’ll cut your tongue out while I fuck your pussy.”

 

Will grabs a nearby rock, aims at one of the onlookers closest to him, and chucks it as hard as he can.

 

“OW, WHAT THE FUCK!?” The onlooker shouts, clutching the back of his head in pain. The sudden outburst startles the ringleader from touching the Omega any further, growling in annoyance as his colleagues laugh at his moment of vulnerability. He silences the group with an icy glare before storming over to the onlooker and giving him a hard shove.

 

“What the _fuck_ are you bitching about right now?” He snaps.

 

“Some fag threw something at me!”

 

“Then quit sucking chode, and go beat up the motherfucker!” The ringleader ushers the onlooker in the other direction. “We don’t need some ass-kisser crashing our party.”

 

“But…”

 

“ _Do it_.”

 

Luckily, Will spots another large rock nearby and quickly grabs it, listening carefully as the onlooker footsteps get louder. He clenches tightly onto it, slightly lowering his stance as he braces himself to jump the oncoming boy. His heart feels like it’s about to explode out of his chest, and his hands are shaky, but Will knows that if he doesn’t do anything he won’t be able to save the Omega.

 

“Dumbass.” The onlooker mutters as he rounds the corner. “If he’s so tough why doesn’t he…”

 

The boy never finishes his sentence as Will slams the rock against his face. Thrown off-guard, Will knees the boy in the gut, and wraps his right arm around the boy’s neck, and pushes it forward with his left, leaving the boy in a choke-hold. As the boy gags and struggles, Will drags him as he approaches the group of boys, now silent as they see their friend in hostage.

 

“He said not to touch him.” Will growls at the ringleader, keeping the onlooker firmly locked in his chokehold. “So leave him alone, and I’ll leave your friend alone.”

 

The boys in the group flash each other dubious looks as they watch their friend slowly grow more limp with each struggle. The ringleader glances at the two boys restraining the Omega and flashes them a gesture.

 

“Alright.” He replies, showing his unarmed hands to Will as a sign of good intention. “Let Julius go, and we’ll let the bitch go.”

 

“You first.” Will glares. “Tell your friends to get their paws off the Omega.”

 

A chuckle escapes from the leader, “Man, you watch too many superhero movies, kid.”

 

Will blinks in confusion, “What’re you…?”

 

In a cruel twist of fate, he grunts in pain as something hard like a metal baseball bat slams the back of his head. Unable to recover from the blow, Will falls face-first onto the ground, rendering him vulnerable to any of the ringleader’s attacks. He keeps his eyes shut and clenches his jaw as he feels the leader grab him by the hair and yank his head upwards.

 

“Hey, look at me, faggot.” The leader snaps, giving Will a backhanded smack across his face.

 

Knowing he had no options left, Will complies and slowly opens his eyes. The older boy is lifting Will’s head in a position that forces the latter to look up at him, as if he were grovelling.

 

“Even a retard would know not to take on a group of people by themself.” He laughs as he abruptly lets go of Will’s hair, and grinds his shoe onto his hand. “The strength of the wolf _is_ the pack, y’know.”

 

Will painfully lifts his head up and spits on the leader’s shoe, “ _Kutabare, mamahuevo._ ”

 

He braces himself for an incoming punch from the leader, but the moment the older Alpha yanks him forward, Will hears a group of familiar voices coming down the alleyway.

 

“Put the kid down, Tony, or I’ll skull fuck you like I did last time!” One of the voices booms angrily.

 

“Yeah, go kick his butt, big bro!” Will hears Aaron shout, along with more fighting words  coming from the other boys in the clique.

 

 _How did they find me?_ He wonders. Before Will can do anything, Tony suddenly drops him and tries to make a run for it. Chaos ensues as Aaron’s older brother chases after Tony to teach him another lesson, while Will’s clique chases out Tony’s cowardly posse.

 

Meanwhile, Will spots the newly released Omega scrambling up on his feet, and trying to run away. He notices bruises all over the Omegas arms and legs, and his clothes are slightly ripped from Tony’s aggressive handling. Groaning in pain, Will stands himself up and stumbles after him.

 

“Hey, wait!” He calls out as he struggles to keep up with the agile Omega. Will nearly loses sight of the boy as he zips around the corners of the alleyway labyrinth, but gets lucky as the Omega turns right into a dead end.

 

“Wait, stop!” Will pants, putting his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

 

“Stay away from me!” The older boy shouts, backing up against the wall.

 

“No, it’s okay!” Will tries to insist, slowly walking toward him. “You’re hurt, right? We need to take you to the nurse!”

 

“Don’t come any closer!” The Omega’s pupils are dilated in fear, Will can see that his small body is visibly shaking with adrenaline.

 

“Please,” Will begs, now less than a foot away from the quivering Omega. “The nurse can fix you up, and I know the way to her office.”

 

He extends his hand out towards the Omega, “Just come with me and I’ll make sure she takes good care of..”

 

Instinctively, the Omega slaps Will across the face and bolts away from him as fast as he can. Will leans against the wall, stunned, and touches the side of his face that was struck.

 

“Why...” He slowly turns around and looks down the direction the Omega ran. “Why were you so scared of me?”

 

“Hey, Will!” A voice from afar calls out. “Will, where are you?”

 

“I’m over here!” Will swallows, trying to suppress his breaking voice. “I’m coming!”

 

“What? No!” The voice replies. “Just stay there, don’t move!” Will can now see who was running towards him, it was Ollie with Robbie tailing right behind him.

 

“No, I’m fine!” The boy insists, attempting to start into a sprint towards his friends. Suddenly, Will is overcome with a wave of dizziness, and stumbles into a halt to prevent himself from falling. In a few minutes, Ollie and Robbie catch up to him and steady him on his feet.

 

“That’s why we said don’t move, dummy!” Ollie grumbles as they walk Will back out of the alleyway labyrinth and back to the school playground. “Robbie said you looked like someone hit you in the head.”

 

“Yeah,” Robbie huffed. “And I tried to stop you, but you were randomly taking off after that Omega.”

 

“Omega!” Will exclaimed, suddenly remembering the injured boy had run off. “Where’d the Omega go?”

  
  
“Whoa, hang on, _muchacho._ ” Robbie laughs. “We have to make sure your brain isn’t dead or whatever. Do that test, Owlie!”

 

“I swear to Rom’lus, Robbie,” Ollie snarls. “If you call me by that stupid name one more time, I’m dropping Will and beating the crap outta you!”

 

“Hey, c’mon!” Robbie laughs. “Don’t ditch Will like that!”

 

Ollie rolls his eyes, “What’s your name?”

 

Will groans, “Will Kiyabu.”

 

“Where are we?”

 

“Phiri.”

 

“What’s today?”

 

“Wednesday?”

 

“See, it’d be fine if I dropped him!” Ollie snaps, warranting another smile from Robbie.

 

“Guys, the Omega!” Will interjects. “Did you guys see him?”

 

“No, last I saw him was when he took off running when everyone was chasing after the fifth graders.” Robbie answers, a little perplexed by Will’s fixation. “Why are you so worried about him?”

 

“I was gonna take him to the nurse,” Will answers. “He could’ve used someone to patch him up, but he hit me.”

 

“Hey,” Ollie squints. “Are your eyes watery or is that just me?”

 

“That’s just…” Will tries to think of a lie. “Allergies! I’m fine!”

 

“Aw!” Robbie nudges him, “Someone’s sad an Omega hit him! Was he cute, is that why?”

 

“I’m sad because he was scared of me!” Will snaps, losing his temper at Robbie’s teasing. “I was just trying to help him, and he’s acting like I’m no different than that Tony guy!”

 

“Will,” Ollie stares at him. “You couldn’t tell?”

 

“Tell _what_?!”

 

“He was in heat.”

 

Will falls silent, completely at a loss.

 

“Yeah,” Robbie sighs. “That’s the only reason those fifth graders came after him. They’ve probably hit their first ruts and all that, so they were able to smell him. I didn’t smell anything, sadly.”

 

“Same here,” Ollie nods. “I’m jealous, my older sister got her rut at my age and I still haven’t gotten it yet.”

 

“It shouldn’t be that way.” Will replies softly.

 

“Huh?” Robbie glances at the wounded boy. “You say something, Will?”

 

Will pauses before answering, “No, I was just rambling...feel kinda tired.”

 

“The nurse should be here soon,” Ollie looks out towards the teacher’s benches a few feet away from the playground. “Aaron figured you’d need her, so he sent one of the guys to go get her while we saved your butt.”

 

The two boys have Will sit down on one of the swings and tell him to wait. Moments later, the school nurse and Will’s homeroom teacher rush over to him and tend to most of his wounds. He winces as the nurse shines a flashlight in his eyes, checking for signs of trauma. The teacher informs him that she has called his parents and his father is on the way to pick him up early.

 

“Sorry, Ms. Suzanne.” Will replies to his homeroom teacher.

 

“You don’t need to be sorry, Will,” The Beta woman sighs. “You just need to be careful. It’s good you did the right thing, but no one can take on a group of Alphas by themself.”

 

“ _Hai_.” Will responds immediately, forgetting that this wasn’t his mother speaking. “Er, I mean, yes m’am.”

 

After waiting a few minutes to rest and recover, Ms. Suzanne gives Will his backpack and lunchbox and escorts him to the front of the school to wait for his father. The nurse hands Will an ice pack and tells him to keep it on for about ten to thirty minutes. About fifteen minutes later, Will spots the familiar dark green 2008 Lobo pull up to the pick-up area. Ms. Suzanne waves to his father, pats Will on the shoulder, and ushers him toward the car.

 

Will exhales a little before opening the car door, sitting down on the front passenger seat, and buckling the seatbelt.

 

“Thank you so much.” Wilfred smiles amicably at the teacher.

 

“No problem, Mr. Kiyabu.” Ms. Suzanne looks at Will. “I hope he ends up okay.”

 

“He’s a tough one!” Wilfred replies proudly, gently rubbing Will’s hair. “Takes after his mom.”

 

“You guys have a good day.” She calls before turning around and heading back inside school. Wilfred rolls up the window before driving out of the parkway to take Will home.

 

“ _Hijo_ , _¿¡que estabas pensando!?_ ” Wilfred asks his son on the drive home. His voice is raised but not enough to be considered yelling. “Is it true, you went in head-first to save an Omega from a group of _cabrónes_?”

 

“Papa, I’m sorry, they were doing bad things to him--I was just trying to help!” Will counters.

 

“ _¡Niño, tú sabes Alphas son muy gente peligrosas!_ ” Wilfred argues back. The Omega father is talking quickly and completely in his mother tongue, Will knows he’s riled him up. _“Ay, ¡y ya temo que te lastimes, porque tu mamá era así! Buen corazón pero imprudente, ¡ella nunca pensó antes de luchar! Tuve que salvarla mucho porque ella …_ ”

 

“ _Papá, ¡dije que gomen nasai!_ ” Will shouts, in an attempt to cut him off. He resumes normal speaking level after receiving his father’s attention. _“Demo boku wa, ano omega wo quería ayudar!_ He was in trouble, I wasn’t going to leave and let those guys hurt him like that! _”_

 

After Wilfred stops at a red light, he looks at his son. Will is staring at his lap with tears dripping down onto his shorts as he holds the ice pack to the back of his head.

 

“He was scared and in danger, I had to help him!” Will sputters.

 

“ _Hijo_ ,” Wilfred lays a hand on his son’s shoulder, taking his foot off the brake once the light turned green. “I’m sorry if I’m stressing you, but you’ve got me and, soon, your mama, stressed too. We want you to be okay, we don’t like it when we hear you got hurt by some punks.”

 

Will only sniffles, he has nothing left to say.

 

“We just want you to be careful, okay?” Wilfred reassures him. “We do appreciate you for being so kind--I really needed someone like you when I was growing up. But you come first, _niño_ , think smart. If you’re one Alpha and there are a whole group, it’s best to get help. You were very lucky that your friends had your back like that.”

 

“Okay.” Will shakily answers. “ _Lo siento._ ”

 

“ _Estas bien,_ William.” His father sighs, recovering from his brief moment of stress. “We’re all going to be okay.”

 

“...Papa?” Will pipes up after a few minutes of silence.

 

“Yes?”

 

“When I tried to take the Omega to the nurse, he hit me.”

 

“Ah,” Wilfred clicks his tongue. “Must’ve been in heat.”

 

“So heats make Omegas hit Alphas?”

 

“Well,” His father pauses, searching for the appropriate answer. “They don’t want to hit you, it’s just that they’re trying to protect themselves. Grown up Alphas come after an Omega in their heat, Will, even if the Omega doesn’t want them to. And since you’re an Alpha, and that’s what Alphas usually do, he just assumed the worst.”

 

“So there’s no such thing as an Alpha that wants to help them?” Will asks, clenching his hands tightly.

 

“Well,” Wilfred chuckles. “There must be, because you clearly wanted to help him. It’s not so black and white, though. I think it’s something you’ll have to learn once you get your first rut.”

 

“Then, I’ll force myself not to learn it--even if I get a rut.”

 

“¿ _Qué_ ?” Wilfred raises an eyebrow, confused at his son’s response. “What’re you going on about, _lobo loco_?”

 

“I’ll be the Alpha that Omegas won’t be afraid of,” Will states with resolve. “In or out of heat, I’ll make sure my Omega _never_ feels like he has to be scared of me. I’ll be different from everyone else, ‘cause my mate will be the happiest out of everyone. He’ll always feel loved and safe, whether I’m holding him, or if he doesn’t want me near during heat.”

 

Wilfred can’t help but flash his son a warm smile, “That’s a good goal to have, _hijo_. Try to remember it.”

 

“I won’t have to try,” Will wipes away the leftover tears in his eyes. “I’ll _always_ remember it.”

 

“Alright,” Wilfred whistles as he parks the car in the driveway. “Okay, brace those ears of yours, William. You know how Chica gets when she finds out someone hurt you.”

 

Will throws away the now melted ice pack in their trash bin sitting outside for pickup before following his father inside the open garage, “They’re already ringing, Papa.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to anyone who got a notification for another chapter, I was draft-testing something and I pressed the wrong button. Anyways, hope y’all liked this chapter! I know there’s a lot of sentimental moments going on right now, but enjoy it while it lasts ‘cause the chapter after this is gonna be a lot more heavy. 
> 
> Hai - Japanese phrase used as an agreement to what someone is saying. 
> 
> Kutabare - Japanese for “go to hell” (roughly).
> 
> Mamahuevo - Spanish for “cocksucker” (roughly). 
> 
> Muchacho - Another Spanish word for “boy”. 
> 
> Hijo - Spanish for “son”.
> 
> Niño - Spanish for “boy”.
> 
> “Hijo, ¿¡que estabas pensando!?” - “Son, what were you thinking!?”.
> 
> Lo siento - Spanish for “I’m sorry”.
> 
> ¿Qué? - Spanish for “what?”.
> 
> Lobo loco - Spanish for “crazy wolf”.
> 
> Estas bien - Spanish for “you’re good”.
> 
> ¡Niño, tú sabes Alphas son múy gente peligrosas! - Boy, you know Alphas are very dangerous people! 
> 
> ¡Tú mamá le dige que nunca attackar más que uno Alpha sí eres solo, y necesitás tus amigos contigo si es así! - “Your mama says to never attack more than one Alpha if you’re alone, and you need your friends with you if so!”
> 
> “Ay, ¡y ya temo que te lastimes, porque tu mamá era así!” - “Oh, and I’m already afraid you’ll hurt yourself because your mama was the same!”
> 
> “Buen corazón pero imprudente, ¡ella nunca pensó antes de luchar! Tuve que salvarla mucho porque ella …” - Spanish for “A good heart but reckless, she never thought before she fought! I had to save her a lot because she…”
> 
> “Papá, ¡dije que gomen nasai!” - In this context, this is a portmanteau of Spanish and Japanese used by Will, he tends to do this when stressed. He’s trying to say “Papa, I said I’m sorry!”
> 
> “Demo boku wa, ano omega wo quería ayudar!” - Another Will portmanteau of Japan-nish/Span-panese, he’s trying to say “But I only wanted to help the Omega!”


	3. The Assailant

"Don't beat yourself up for it, Will." Robbie exhales a puff of cigarette smoke after taking a hit. "It's a good thing, it means you're still innocent."

 

"I still feel like I'm lagging behind everyone, though." Will sighs, shoving his hands into his pockets and leaning against the wall.

 

"Yeah, well," The blonde snickers. "Just remember Thomas is impotent. You being a late rutter can't compare to that, you can still function properly."

 

William Kiyabu is now fourteen years old, and starting his second year at Remus Middle School. Most of his friends he knew from Phiri had transferred over, except for Aaron and Ollie. While the clique still meets up together in the cafeteria, Robbie is the only guy Will talks to the most. Last year, Robbie and a couple of the other guys found a legal friend to sneak some cigarettes from.

 

Every so often, Will would follow him out to a secluded area in the courtyard and talk with him while he smoked. Every guy in the clique, including Robbie himself, had their first rut except for Will. They don’t tease him for it, praise Rom’lus, but Will hates the feeling of not belonging whenever they do talk about it. He already was a misfit enough in elementary, surely, he did not need these feelings in middle school as well.

 

Will rolls his eyes at Robbie, "Oh for fuck's sake, the guy's got a good heart--who needs potency anyway? We'd be better off without it."

 

"Yeah, yeah," Robbie waves his hand dismissively. He then drops the cigarette onto the concrete and snuffs it out with his shoe. "Y'know, I do have one question for ya."

 

"Yeah?"

 

"Why haven't you hooked up with an Omega?" His back arches as he decides to stretch his arms. "Or, like, be friends with one?"

 

"Oh, that." Will pauses. "I think they'd be afraid of me. Besides, from what I've heard Omegas talk about, I'd definitely feel out of place."

 

“Aw c’mon, Willie!” Robbie coughs a little from the tobacco slowly killing his lungs. “Just ‘cause they talk about ‘Omega things’ doesn’t mean they’re gonna bite you!”

 

“Listen, you and I are still friends ‘cause we have common ground,” Will explains. “We both are Alphas, we’re both pretty relaxed people, we have the same taste in cute Omega guys…”

 

“Alright, alright,” Robbie laughs, giving Will a playful shove. “I get it.” He glances up at the sky briefly before continuing, “You know...I think that’s the difference.”

 

“Eh?” Will raises an eyebrow. “Difference in what?”

 

“Like before the rut, and after, dude.” Robbie sighs. “See, I used to be picky with what kinda Omega I wanted to be with. Now? I’m not anymore.”

 

“And why’s that?” Will frowns. “I mean, I guess it’s easier having no preference, but you know there are those low-class Omegas that…”

 

“Because you can’t control it, Willie.” Robbie cuts him off.

 

“Can’t control a rut?” Will lets out a huff of disbelief. “Don’t tell me you’re believing all that stupid biology bullshit. If Omegas can be in heat but decide not to elope, then so can Alphas!”

 

“Sure, but without any meds, Will, it’s like you become an animal.” The blonde pats Will on the back. “I can’t really explain it, since it’s more of a ‘experience it yourself’ kinda thing. We don’t get as much of a conscious choice like the Omegas do.”

 

“You’re not the only one who’s told me that.”

 

“Listen, bro-migo,” Robbie plants both of his hands on Will’s shoulders and forces him to face him directly, “I think you need to enjoy being able to control yourself around Omegas, and having the privilege of being able to choose whether or not you want to go up to one.”

 

He then turns around and heads back inside the cafeteria, “I’m your friend, Will, I’m just looking out for you. We’re all no different than wolves in the end, and our ruts prove that.”

 

Will grimaces as he watches his pal slip back inside the school. Much as he didn’t like admitting it, something about Robbie’s words gave him a chill down his spine. Ever since the incident in fourth grade, Will always made sure he was the ‘good Alpha’, the one Alpha who wouldn’t lay their paws on an Omega willy-nilly and would treat them with respect. If what Robbie said earlier was true, then that would mean Will’s goal was impossible.

 

 _No._ He refuses to accept it. _We’re not animals, we’re human beings. We are complex, if we can make medicines to control heats and cure diseases, then we can easily control our natural ruts. I won’t let my rut take over my judgment, I’m better than that. I always will be._

 

 _Besides,_ Will proudly counters in his head as he opens the courtyard door and steps back into the chilling, AC-blasted school, _Mama is an Alpha and she told me she never laid her paws on anyone who didn’t consent! So, clearly, ruts can be controlled, and anyone who says otherwise is just lazy and inconsiderate._

 

After throwing away his trash, Will scouts the cafeteria for the table his clique is sitting at. As he navigates through the masses of students, something diverts his attention. The Alpha boy had spotted his table, and had intended to sit down with his friends for the remainder of lunch, but the smell of something sweet catches his nose.

 

It reminds him of the cologne his father wore whenever he would go out on a private date with Will’s mother. Normally, the smell wouldn’t enthrall Will so much but there was something off about it today. He felt compelled to follow it, like a hound on a scent trail. Not knowing any better, Will weaves his way out from the cafeteria tables and heads down Remus’ west hallway.

 

As Will continues to pursue the smell, in the distance he is able to make out the figure of a blonde-haired boy. A few feet away, there is a sign indicating the men’s bathroom in the boy’s general direction.

 

 _Bathroom?_ He feels like it’s a sign for something significant, but he is unable to think of what it could be at the moment. Realizing the boy was quite some distance away from him, Will quickened his pace--afraid of losing his scent.

 

The boy slips inside the bathroom, and despite being far, Will can hear the sound of a door locking.

 

 _Need to break it down._ Will thinks to himself. He has no idea why, but he is overcome with a strong urge to see the boy and embrace him. From afar, Will could tell the guy’s appearance was his type, light-haired with a thin, slightly effeminate frame. The moment he would break the annoying door down, he would hold that boy tightly--the Omega was his to protect. He knew how other Alphas were, and he was the better one out of all of them.

 

Will is now less than a foot away from the bathroom entrance. _He’ll be mine, and only mine. I’ll be gentle when I hold him, and then I can..._

 

“Hey.”

 

Will nearly jumps as he feels someone rest their head on his shoulders. Before he can turn around to see who had touched him, the unknown person wraps their hands around his waist.

 

“I was following another guy,” The boy nuzzles Will’s neck and whispers into his ear. “But you smell pretty nice, too.”

 

“Smell?” Will replies, but his speech is so slurred that his words are indistinguishable. Currently, he struggles to form words as his brain is entirely focused on the Omega he was tailing. He finds enough wiggle room to face the boy who grabbed him, it is someone slightly taller than him with dark hair.

 

“Don’t think about it too much,” The boy answers before pinning Will against the wall. “We’re both gonna feel good in a second.”

 

Will is now thoroughly confused; he wasn’t sure what this guy was going on about, but he was preventing him from getting to the Omega. The boy didn’t understand how or why it mattered, but wasn’t questioning it at this point.

 

“Hey,” Will places a hand on the other boy’s shoulder, suddenly feeling irritated that someone was interfering with his task. “Let me go. I don’t want what you’re…”

 

The boy doesn’t listen, lifting up Will’s shirt and begins sucking off his nipples. Will clenches his fist, getting ready to punch him, when the odd urges he had been feeling prior to this suddenly intensify. Now, it was no longer about finding the Omega and holding him; Will felt the compulsive instinct to embrace someone. Omega, boy, girl, non-human--none of it mattered anymore.

 

He didn’t appreciate the random boy for stopping him from getting to the Omega, nor did he appreciate suddenly being grabbed and touched. However, whatever the boy was doing was driving his strange feelings on. Will had wanted to find the nice-smelling Omega and hold him, but maybe the random boy would have to do. At this rate, he felt like he would go insane if he _didn’t_ embrace someone. He _had_ to do it, his body was craving it.

 

Will barely processes what happens next during the passing minutes. It is as if he’s in an odd dream, his body feels sluggish, his sense of time has been warped, and any nearby noises sound distant and echo-y. He can make out the sound of kissing, feeling something warm slowly enter his mouth and move around his tongue. There is a faint thud sound, and Will now hears someone gasping.

 

His hands touch something soft; in his hazy state, Will can see that he’s touching the other boy’s chest and torso. It’s not like an Omega’s thin frame, but it’s still beautiful even if it’s more on the muscular side. His mind slips back into another trance-like state, and Will feels like he is in a weird state of euphoria. He’s surrounded by what he can only think of as ‘warm things’ and the sound of someone else breathing against him pleases him.

 

But something in the distance won’t fade away, not like the other noises Will had heard. It sounds like gibberish, but it keeps growing in volume every passing second.

 

 _What is that?_ He ponders with concern. _It sounds so troublesome…_

 

“St..op…”

 

Will blinks in response as his hands caress the legs of the boy before pulling down his pants. He could barely hear the voice, but it had definitely caught his attention. As Will started to slip off the boy’s boxers, he strained his ears to hear it again.

 

“St..op! Pl...plea...se...st...op!”

 

“I can’t hear you!” Will tries to say, but finds himself tongue-tied; he is too focused on enacting his physical urges.

 

“Please...stop!”

 

 _Please….stop?_ Will repeats mentally. His eyes suddenly widen in fear. _Wait. ‘Please stop’? ‘Stop’? Wait, that’s used for…_

 

“Please, stop it!” The voice has suddenly gained proximity, gaining so much volume that Will’s eardrums begin to pound. “Stop it! I’m sorry--PLEASE DON’T PUT IT IN, I’M SORRY!”

 

As if being woken up, Will blinks his eyes rapidly and wants to throw up at the sight in front of him. The boy that had grabbed him was now naked from the waist down, with Will’s hands wrapped around his lower thighs as if he were about to pull him closer. Any closer, and Will would have done something that the Alpha clearly didn’t consent to.

 

A small squeak of fear escapes Will’s mouth, his eyes well up with tears as he frantically backs away from the boy--squirming away from the legs he had grabbed like they were made of hot coals. Once free, he bolts off down the corridor while pulling up his pants and zipping them without second thought. Robbie’s voice is now echoing around him, his heart is beating so fast that it might as well burst out of his chest.

 

“ _You can’t control it, Willie.”_

 

“ _It’s like you become an animal.”_

 

_“We’re no different than wolves.”_

 

Will shuts his eyes, knowing he’s close to the school’s exit. In the distance, he can hear the sound of the other boy running in the opposite direction. He was going to get the principal, this was all Will’s fault. He did the one thing he promised himself never to do.

 

 _“PLEASE STOP!”_ The boy’s voice makes Will open his eyes, making him skid to a sudden halt as he almost crashes into the door.

 

Will looks behind him, and after confirming nobody is there, he shoves the door open and starts sprinting towards his home. He doesn’t care about the field of practicing football players. He doesn’t care that they’re cursing and screaming at him to walk around. The only thing on his mind now is the after image of the boy’s look of total fear he gave Will as he lay on the tile floor.

 

“I’m sorry!” Will mutters quietly as he opens the gate and continues for his mad-dash for home. The boy’s pleading for him to stop keeps resonating with him non-stop. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!” He keeps apologizing over and over to himself, increasing each apology in volume like it would make the voice go away.

 

By the time he gets home, a few dogs start barking at the sound of Will’s screaming apologies as he unlocks the door, slams it behind him, and lunges into his mother’s master closet, shutting himself inside. His body is shaking, and the urge to embrace someone--no, it wasn’t embracing. It was an urge to elope. That’s what the feeling was. An intense need to elope with someone, with or without their consent.

 

“STOP IT!” He shouts, as if the desire were personified. He slams his fists against the hardwood, hoping the pain would incapacitate his own body from doing any more harm. The boy’s voice, begging for him to stop, causes Will to whimper and bury his head in his arms. “I’M SORRY! I DIDN’T MEANT TO DO IT, I’M SO SORRY! PLEASE, I STOPPED! I STOPPED!”

 

 _“Don’t worry.”_ Will’s heart skips a beat as he hears his own voice from years ago. “ _I won’t let anyone take you. I’ll take good care of you, and you can be my husband...”_

 

“PLEASE!” He begs again, gripping his ears like he was ready to pull them out. “PLEASE STOP IT! I’M…”

 

 _“I won’t be like the other Alphas, though…”_ The voice of his past self suddenly carries an icy tone to it, like it knew it was talking to its current self. “ _I kinda don’t like being rough...”_

 

“I didn’t mean to!” Will’s broken words are accentuated by sobs.

 

Now the Omega who had hit him in fourth grade joined in the chorus of ghostly voices, snapping at him, “ _I told you to stay away from me!”_

 

“I’m not a bad Alpha!” Will is screaming desperately as the voices of the past continue to haunt him.  “I didn’t mean to! I’m sorry!”

 

Unable to bear the guilt, he presses himself up against the wall of the closet and shuts his eyes tightly, cupping his ears and hoping the voices would go away. His body is tense, the voices sound so real that he felt like someone was about to come inside the room and yank him from the closet.

 

Then, without any warning, the voices fade away, leaving him in silence.

 

Will opens one eye, checking to see that the coast is clear. His hands are trembling, and he feels like a man fighting the urge to transform into a beast--the urge is persistent. Immediately, he resorts to biting his hands, slamming them against the closet walls to the point of making his knuckles bleed. Eventually he is able to wear himself out to the point he can’t enact the urge, no matter how persistent. In his exhausted, beaten up state, Will can only cry and repeat apologies; even if he could no longer hear the voices of his past.

 

Eventually, his eyes dry up, having no more tears to shed, but he doesn’t want to leave the closet. The urge is still coursing through his body, and Will fears that if he were to move a single muscle, he would find someone else to hurt again. If there were anything that could restrain him, rope, duct tape--anything at all--he would’ve bound himself.

 

He felt like a monster.

 

*

 

Will had no idea how much time had passed before he heard the loud footsteps of his mother entering the house. He could hear the muffled noises of his father telling her to stay calm as she fiercely slams the front door shut. This cues him to preemptively grip the sides of the closet, knowing what she was about to do. Not missing a beat, Ichika swings the closet doors open and scoops up her hunched over son.

 

“NO!” Will screams hysterically, kicking and trying to hold onto the closet door frame. “LET ME GO, IT’S STILL THERE!”

 

“William, _¡cálmese!_ ” His father shouts as Ichika tries to stop him from squirming out of her grasp. “ _¡Cálmese, hijo!_ ”

 

“ _NO ME SHIMASEN!_ ” Will cries out, desperately clawing at anything nearby that would help pull him away from his mother. “ _BOKU WA EL DIABLO, ¡HARÉ ITAMARU A TODOS!_ ”

 

“Will!” Ichika grunts as she struggles to keep him and sit him on their bed. “Calm down, and…”

 

“ _KUDASAI, NO ME TOQUES!”_ He cuts her off, still trying to find a way back into the closet. _“KUDASAI!_ ”

 

“Will, please stop yell…”

 

“PUT ME BACK IN THE…”

 

 _“UIRIAMU KORONADO KIYABU, KIITE KUDASAI!”_ Ichika roars as she grabs Will by the shoulder and forces him to look directly at her. Even though he is now too weak to struggle, he continues sobbing while calling out to his mother in choked gasps.

 

“ _Kiite_!” She pulls him in close, patting his back in an attempt to soothe him. “Calm down, everything is going to be okay...”

 

“I HURT HIM!”

 

“William!” She growls, “That good-for-nothing brat was the one who did the ‘hurting’, if we’re going to talk about who hurt whom!”

 

“Chica, Chica,” Wilfred intervenes, gesturing her to move aside so he can embrace his son. “I know you’re upset, but let me calm him down; being riled up around him is gonna stress him out more.”

 

“I’M SO SORRY!!” Will screams as his father hugs him, softly patting the back of his head.

 

“Shh, shh,” Wilfred soothes, kissing his son’s forehead and then stroking his back. “ _Calma, calma, mi niñito_. It’s okay, everything is okay; your mama and papa are here.”

 

“H-he…” Will swallows for air. “He got hurt! I hurt him!”

 

“No, no,” Wilfred continues soothing him. “You did the right thing, _hijo._ You did the right thing.”

 

At this, the boy suddenly pulls back from his father’s embrace and stares at him in confusion, “Wh-what…?!”

 

“Will, the brat was touching you inappropriately!” Ichika takes a moment to breathe, saying the words made her want to go on a headhunt on the punk and his family. “You did what any Omega would, and you were lucky you were able to give him a taste of his own medicine!”

 

“ _Si_ , Will!” Wilfred chimes in. “We’ve always told you it’s okay to defend yourself, even if the method’s a little strange.”

 

“B-but,” Will scoots away. “It wasn’t self defense!”

 

Ichika frowns, “What are you talking about, Will? Of course it is self defense, why else would you be going to the bathroom all by yourself?”

 

“That’s because I…” Will suddenly stops, realizing a horrible truth. Looking back on it now, he would have done the same thing to the boy he was tailing. Even though all he was feeling was the urge to hold the Omega, it would have been similar to what happened with the Alpha. The feeling of embrace would have transitioned into a feeling of eloping, and Will would have nearly raped the Omega. Hell, maybe he wouldn’t have heard the Omega and…

 

“I…” Will closes his eyes as another wave of tears start welling up. _I was going to the bathroom because I was going after an Omega. The Alpha and I are the same, we were both following someone to go fu…_ He buries his face into his father’s chest once more, unable to even say the word mentally.

 

“Easy, Will, easy,” Wilfred continues patting him gently on the back. “It’s okay. This is going to be a strange time, for all of us.”

 

“That’s right,” Ichika sits down on the bed and wraps her arm around her son’s shoulders. “We’re going to have to order heat pills and everything from now on. I’m going to hate looking at the bill.”

 

Will turns towards her, “Pills?”

 

She looks at him with pity, “I’m sorry, dear. The doctors were wrong, it turns out you are an Omega--like your papa.”

 

“W-wait!” Will protests. “But, I…”

 

“You can’t smell it, but,” Ichika sighs. “You’re emitting pheromones right now, I can smell them. They’re not that strong, thank Rom’lus, but they’re definitely there.”

 

“B-but…”

 

“Don’t worry, Will,” Wilfred smiles at him warmly. “I’ll help you out with whatever you need. I was a young Omega as well, so if you ever need help with coping, talk to me. I’ll use what I’ve learned to help you survive.”

 

Will blinks in silence before mumbling, “But I had an Alpha rut…”

 

“Will, what did you say?” Ichika tilts her head, a little wary that her son is speaking softly in front of them. “We couldn’t hear you.”

 

Will pauses, unsure of what he should reveal to his parents. _If I tell them I had an Alpha rut, then they’re going to find out that I’m no different than that Alpha. But then again...they’re saying I’m an Omega, right? Why would I have a rut if I’m an Omega?_

 

“I…” He looks down at his lap. “I want to sleep.”

 

“...” Ichika knows her son is hiding something, but is too exhausted to press him any further. “Alright. Well, go grab a glass of water and drink this pill before you brush your teeth. You need it for tomorrow.”

 

Will hesitates as his mother places a singular, sealed tablet into his palm. Something feels wrong, but he doesn’t know what it is or why he is feeling this way.

 

Before he slides off the bed to head for the bathroom, Will asks his mother, “Mama...I’m _not_ an Alpha?”

 

“No.” She reaffirms. “You’re not, those doctors had it wrong. I can still smell your pheromones from here.”

 

“...” Will’s fist clenches tightly around the pill. “ _Hai_ .” Not saying another word, he slips out of the bedroom and heads down the hallway to his bathroom. Ichika frowns as she watches her son leave; she _knows_ he is hiding something but is unsure if pressing him about it would alleviate the situation.

 

“Chica,” Wilfred asks, clearly concerned about the look of worry on his wife’s face. “What’s wrong?”

 

“It’s nothing, dear.” She answers him abruptly, standing up from the bed and giving him a quick peck on the forehead. “I’m going to make Will’s lunch for the week, I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.”

 

“ _Sí_ .” Wilfred replies. The moment she leaves the room, he lets out a long sigh, _“Ay...nunca es bueno cuando la esposa y el niño te ocultan secretos.”_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:
> 
> Sí. - Spanish for “yes”.
> 
> Ay..nunca es bueno cuando la esposa y el niño te ocultan secretos. - Spanish for “Oh...it’s never good when the wife and the boy are keeping secrets from you.”
> 
> Calma - Spanish for “calm”. 
> 
> Mi niñito - Spanish for “my little boy”. 
> 
> “¡Cálmese, hijo!” - Spanish for “Calm down, son!”
> 
> ¡Cálmese! - Spanish for “Calm down!”
> 
> No me toques! - Spanish for “Don’t touch me!”
> 
> Hai. - Japanese phrase used for agreement. 
> 
> Uiriamu Koronado Kiyabu, kiite kudasai! - Japanese for “William Coronado Kiyabu, listen to me right now!” (roughly)
> 
> Kiite! - Japanese for “listen”. 
> 
> Kudasai - Japanese for “please” (generally). 
> 
> No me shimasen! - A Will portmanteau of “Don’t do that!”
> 
> Boku wa el diablo, ¡haré itamaru a todos! - A Will portmanteau of “I’m the Devil, I’m going to hurt everyone!”
> 
> Kudasai, no me toques! - Another portmanteau of “Please, don’t touch me!”


	4. It Doesn't Add Up

Will woke up the next day, his eyes heavy from lack of sleep. He tried his best to get some rest the previous night, but every time he shut his eyes his thoughts would go back to the events that occurred at school. The doll, the Omega boy, and the Alpha boy haunted his dreams; each time he fell into REM, Will found himself reliving his awful deed. Every three hours or so, he would wake up in a cold sweat, his heart thumping out of his chest.

 

As if she weren’t worried enough, Ichika became concerned at Will’s tired state. She nearly had a heart attack as Will almost grabbed her foundation in lieu of toothpaste when he was brushing his teeth earlier. Carefully, yet efficiently, she packs Will’s bento for lunch period and slips it into his backpack.

 

“William!” She calls, hearing him exit the bedroom after being dressed by her husband. “Come here!”

 

Will stumbles a little as he scuttles over to the kitchen, giving Ichika more uneasiness. The moment he arrives, he looks up at her expectantly.

 

“Listen, sweetie,” Ichika kneels down as she hands him his backpack. “I know you’re still upset about yesterday; but whatever happens, don’t let anyone pick on you. Understood?”

 

“ _Hai._ ”

 

She pauses for a minute as he slips the backpack’s straps over his shoulders, “Honey, do you want to stay home today?”

 

Will looks off to the side, considering her proposal, “...”

 

“You don’t look so well,” His mother explains. “And you know I don’t like seeing you in poor health.”

 

“I’ll go.” Will answers.

 

“Are you sure?” Ichika confirms. “Because if you…”

 

“I’ll go, Mama.” Will repeats himself. While staying home would have been nice, if he wasn’t distracted by something, the voices would keep haunting him. He needed school, it would take his mind off things.

 

She pulls her son close with a tight squeeze, “I love you, sweetie.”

 

 _Love you, too._ Will wants to say, but knows he’ll break down in tears if he says the answer aloud. A few minutes later, his father enters the kitchen, all dressed up for work and ready to go.

 

“ _Listo,_ Will?” His father asks, smiling warmly at Ichika before extending his hand out to Will.

 

“ _¡Sí!_ ” The boy replies, grabbing his father’s hand and being lead by him out the front door. “ _Ittekimasu,_ Mama!”

 

“ _A_ _diós,_ Chica!”

 

 _“Itterasshai!”_ Ichika calls out to both of them as they leave. As the door closes, she apprehensively cracks her knuckles. _Please, Rom’lus, let my son be okay._

 

Wilfred feels uneasy as he and Will sit in silence on the drive to Remus; he cannot imagine what his son must be going through internally, but he wants to be the best father he can be for his child.

 

“ _Hijo_ ,” He glances at his rearview mirror, making sure he has Will’s full attention. “I know your mama gave you a pep talk, but hear me out too.’

 

“Okay, Papa,” Will nods from the backseat. “I’m listening.”

 

“Don’t feel ashamed if people start treating you differently. I understand that you like having people around you, and you want to please them--but events like this are going to reveal that some people aren’t your ‘real friends’.” He pulls up to the school’s carpool area and stops the car. “Does that make sense?”

 

“Yes, it does.”

 

Wilfred smiles as he reaches over his seat to pat his son on the head, “Don’t _ever_ be ashamed of who you are, my son.”

 

 _No, I could never do that._ Will wants to retort, but keeps his mouth shut. _Who I am...No, what I am is a monster._ “Yes, Papa, I won’t.”

 

Wilfred presses his flashers, gesturing the boy to leave the car, “Have a good day, _hjio_. Be careful.”

 

“I will.” Will responds as he unbuckles his seatbelt, slides open the car door, and hops out. He immediately closes the door behind him, and quickly dashes through the front entrance.

 

The moment Will hears his sneakers tap against the tile floor, a chill runs down his spine. Seeing the long hallway leading past the cafeteria into the west wing unnerved him; if he stared at the area any longer, he swore he would start re-living yesterday’s events all over again. As Will makes his way to the cafeteria to wait for classes to begin, he feels like he is being watched. Upon a quick glance, Will notices a group of guys giving him the fish-eye before quickly averting their gazes.

 

People passing by him back up, giving him an unreasonable amount of space as they move around him and out of his way. Will can’t tell if it’s his mind playing tricks on him, but he swears he can hear people muttering quietly about him as if he were some kind of ex-criminal. Eventually, Will spots Robbie and the remaining clique members at one of the innermost tables. As he weaves his around towards him, one of the group members alerts the others of his presence.

 

Instinctively, Will stops in his tracks and he watches the group collectively move further back to a different table. He is nearly crushed when he notices Robbie still remaining at the table, staring at him. Will moves closer, and when he gets near, the former friend quickly stands up.

 

“Robbie,” Will tries to speak evenly, but he can’t stop his voice from croaking. “I…”

 

“Buddy,” Robbie shakes his head, as he backs away. “You’re...you’re something alright.”

 

“Wait, Rob…” Will tries to reach out to him, not wanting to lose his only friend.

 

“DON’T!” Robbie snaps, catching the attention of everyone in the cafeteria. He quickly draws his hand back, as if it had been near a rabid animal. Will wants to hide as he feel everyone in the room staring at him, waiting to see what he would do next. He felt like a circus performer, everyone staring at him waiting to do something freakish and unnatural to gawk at.

 

He bites his lip, trying not to cry, as he backs away and lets Robbie rejoin the clique. Everyone else in the cafeteria slowly resumes their normal activities, getting breakfast and chatting with their friends. Will tries to find a table with people to sit at, but every time he gets close the members of the table either get ready to leave or scoot away. Even the table close to the stage, the renowned “Omega Table,” flashes Will fearful looks the moment he takes one step in their general direction.

 

Defeated, the young boy finds an empty table, isolated from the bustling crowds of people, and sits down. He knows that he deserved all the fear, hatred, and loneliness for actions, and he knows that his father was right about people treating him differently. He just didn’t know it would hurt so much to lose the only person he was friends with throughout his childhood.

 

He then places his backpack on top of the table, and buries his head in it, praying that the bell would ring soon.

 

Will had always sympathized with the kids he’d see sitting by themselves in the past, but every time he would try to reach out to them, Robbie would yank him away.

 

“They chose to sit alone, dude,” He’d justify in response to Will’s protests. “Besides, if the rest of the boys have iffy feelings towards them, they’re probably not wrong.”

 

Now experiencing the feeling himself, Will felt like what Robbie had told him was a load of bullshit. Clearly, choice wasn’t a factor when it came to everyone avoiding you like the plague.

 

The next hours were torture as Will was subjected to dirty looks, and hushed whispers given when his back was turned. The teachers tried to play their facade, but even Will could tell that his hardened, Alpha history teacher looked like he was ready to jump the phone to call in help at a moment’s notice.

 

During lunch period, Will found himself at the empty table again, all by his lonesome. However, as he solemnly ate his lunch in silence, he spotted a cameraman and woman with a microphone standing at the front entrance. Intrigued, he tilts his head in the direction where they are standing, trying to catch onto what she is saying.

 

“...I’m here at Phiri Elementary, the place where an Omega was reported to have assaulted an Alpha. Ron Donovan, the head principal, states that what the Omega did was purely out of  self-defense, and that it shouldn’t be interpreted otherwise. The Alpha assaulter has been suspended from school for five weeks before he may return and resume his classes...”

 

Even though he knows listening in wouldn’t make him feel any better, Will quietly gets up and leans against the wall of the hallway leading towards the front entrance, trying to move closer to be able to listen better.

 

“...With me now are a few students who have been pulled for a live interview.” The cameraman gestures to a teenaged boy to come approach the news lady and stand near her. Upon arriving, the reporter asks, “What is your name?”

 

“Ashton Taylor.”

 

“Ashton, what are your thoughts on all of this? Do you think it’s a good thing that an Omega was able to defend himself so well?”

 

“I mean, uh,” The boy pauses, trying to search for the right way to word his answer. “While I’m glad he didn’t get uh...sexually assaulted and all that, it uh...it feels kinda unnatural, you know? Like, um...Omegas aren’t built to be strong or anything, they’re suppose to be the types that need saving. So the fact that we have, like, an Omega at school that can, uh you know, pounce an Alpha is just a little weird. Good, but well...kinda weird.”

 

Will had enough, he didn’t need to listen any further to what Ashton had to say. The message was clear: he was abnormal and dangerous. The rest of his day felt like Hell; in all of his classes, he was met with isolation, fearful looks, and whispered gossip. However, he didn’t regret not taking the day off.

 

Will preferred being at school, for it kept the voices of his past at bay since the other students were essentially doing their job of tormenting him for them. That, and school distracted him with things like loads of homework and assignments due within an unreasonable amount of time. But at home, once Will finished his school work, there was nothing to distract him. He was left with his own thoughts, and the only thing that was on his mind was the terrible deed he had done yesterday.

 

As he spots his father pull into the school carpool, Will slowly makes his way up to the curb.

 

A few minutes later, Wilfred’s car pulls up close and he rolls his window down, “Hop in, _hijo !_ ”

 

“How was your day?” His father asks on their drive back home.

 

“It was alright.”

 

Immediately, Wilfred frowns; hearing his son give him a solemn answer felt unnatural, “You know, _hijo_ , if you really weren’t feeling well, you…”

 

“Really, Papa,” Will insists. “It’s okay. I’m okay.”

 

“You know, Will, you can talk to us if anythi…” Will’s father trails off in shock as he turns left onto their neighborhood block. A hoard of news reporters crowd the Kiyabu household with their vans and trucks, completely blocking off Wilfred from the driveway. Hoards of people litter the street, and seeing that it would be pointless to attempt to navigate around them in a car, Wilfred shuts off the ignition.

 

One of their close neighbors, Miguel, spots the car and immediately dashes over.

 

“When you get out of the car,” Wilfred orders tensely. “Take my hand, Will, _and do not let go of it. ¿Lo entiendes?”_

 

 _“Sí,_ Papa _.”_

 

 _“¡Miguel!_ ” Wilfred shouts, as he and his son step out of the car. _“Qué está pasando, ¿quiénes son estos hijos de puta?”_

 

Doing as he was told, Will immediately grips his father’s hand tightly as they make their way toward their neighbor.

 

“ _¡Es terrible, ese!”_ Miguel yells  back as he shoves a few people aside and finally meets up with the duo.

 

“It was around one or two clock in the afternoon,” He explains as he guides Wilfred and Will through the mass of onlookers and camera crew. “First it was just Channel 48, they were walking around the house trying to look around and then…” Miguel rapidly does the sign of the cross before continuing, “Your _esposa_ came back to them snooping around her property, and you know how she is about trespassers.”

 

“ _Rom’lus Mio_ …” Wilfred grits his teeth.

 

“They didn’t help their case by pressing questions about your little _perrito_ either.”

 

“Do you know where she is, Miguel?”

 

Miguel points to what would’ve been the bottom floor porch, “Over there. We better hurry, she looks like she’s ready to punch someone.”

 

“No,” Wilfred insists. “Stay out of the crowd, people are dangerous and I don’t want you getting trampled on. We’ll make our way over there before Ichi ends up in holding.”

 

Their neighbor nods, resting his hand on Wilfred’s shoulder, “ _Ten cuidado,_ Wilfred.”

 

“ _Lo se_.” Wilfred pats him on the back before they part ways. “C’mon, Will. Don’t let go of me, and remain calm. Okay?”

 

“ _Hai._ ”

 

As his father elbows his way through, Will does his best to maintain a tight grip on his hand. However, as they get closer and closer to their house, Will feels like someone’s gaze is searing right through him. Even though something in his gut told him not to do it, he looks around, trying to find the source. Immediately, the boy locks eyes with a middle-aged man.

 

Suddenly, as Will hears the man shout something indistinguishable, the mass of people began to enclose on him and his father. All at once, he felt hot and trapped. The increased heat begins to make his palms drip with sweat, causing his grip on Wilfred’s hand to loosen. The boy panics, his chest feeling tight and a knot forming in his throat. He tries to take a deep breath to calm down, but regrets it as his sense and lungs are assaulted with the revolting stench of sweat and the conglomerate scents of strong colognes.

 

Will feels like a wolf in a dog-fighting cage, the microphones being shoved in both his and his father’s face being akin to the sticks used to antagonize the creature. Their voices all blended together, he couldn’t discern any words from anyone--it was as if they were talking in slow motion. Will felt like his legs were about to give in when Wilfred gave him a hard yank away from the mob, causing the two to stumble onto their front porch, a refuge from the crowd.

 

Will’s mouth nearly drops in shock as he sees a small crowd of reporters surrounding his mother, to the point that he can only see the tip of her hair-bun.

 

“Mrs. Kiyabu!” One of them hounds. “Please, answer do you think your child is unnatural?”

 

“For the upteenth time!” Ichika’s voice is raised, she can no longer hide her broiling anger. “Get off my property, and stop asking questions about my son!”

 

“But Mrs. Kiyabu,” A reporter from another news network interjects. “The people want to know why you and your husband didn’t seek help for William, if he was clearly unnatural?”

 

“I don’t want to repeat myself to you, just...”

 

“At the very least,” Another one inquires, clearly disregarding the Alpha’s discomfort. “Did William inherit his abnormalities from you?”

 

“That is _it_!” Ichika shouts. A low, guttural growl escapes from her out of anger, “Get the hell off my property!”

 

A shocked gasp comes from one of the reporters as Ichika yanks the microphone out of her hands, and chucks it hard at the camera, breaking its lens. Chaos ensues as the other reporters try to get away in fear, but still attempt to make coverage for a new development in the story. Will nearly wants to scream as he sees his mother raise her fist at one of the approaching security guards before Wilfred immediately grabs him by the shoulders, and has him face the wall of the house.

 

“Will, just look away!” Wilfred orders as he makes a mad dash towards his wife. “Chica! CHICA!”

 

Will doesn’t dare disobey as he can heard the sound of his mother growling and shouting, along with his father speaking rapid-fire Spanish. Ichika is now saying cut-throat threats in Japanese, and while Will doesn’t recognize some words, he can definitely make out “kill you” and “bastards.”

 

“William!” His father shouts, grabbing his son’s attention. He has somehow managed to get the front door unlocked while holding back his raging, trying to break free wife, “ _¡Rápido, rápido!_ Before things get worse!”

 

The boy sprints as quickly as he can over to the front door. Luckily for him, Ichika notices him and immediately is less resistant about going inside the house. As the three slip inside, Wilfred slams the door and triple locks it. He then proceeds to go about the house, shutting the blinds downstairs and up.

 

“Oh my Rom’lus, William!” Ichika exclaims, hugging her son tightly. “I’m so sorry, your mama is so sorry!  Please tell me no one did the same to you at school!”

 

“School was okay, mama,” Will chokes up. “I’m s-sorry…”

 

“No, no, no,” She kisses him on the cheek. “Don’t be sorry. Mama should’ve kept her cool, I know you heard me back there. I’m so sorry.”

 

“Okay, unless someone managed to sneak inside the house,” Wilfred sighs. “Our bases are covered.”

 

He sees his wife and son in their tight embrace, “Alright, let papa join in too. It’s a family hug.”

 

He then wraps his arms around both of them, and holds them tightly.  

 

“We’ll all get through this.” Ichika assures them. “These idiots can’t stay here forever, they’re going to give up eventually.”

 

A few minutes later, everyone breaks free from the embrace. Immediately, Wilfred notices Ichika’s knuckles are bruised, “Chica, your fist!”

 

“It’s fine,” She looks at it, wincing a little as she touches the injury. “I’ll just put some ice on it if I have to.”

 

“No,” The Omega immediately takes her affected hand and kisses it. “There. Now it’ll heal better.”

 

Despite the rough day she had, the Alpha can’t help but giggle, “What are you, four?”

 

“Don’t listen to her Will!” The boy’s father insists as his wife ruffles his hair. “Kisses make everything better! Remember that with your husband!”

 

 _Not that I’ll ever have one at this point._ Will thinks to himself as he curtly nods at his father’s remark.

 

“Well,” Ichika gives her husband a quick peck on the cheek. “I’m going to make dinner. Will, are you hungry?”

 

“Yes,” The boy answers, immediately heading up the stairs. “Just call me when it’s ready.”

 

He heads for room and quickly closes the door behind him before crawling onto his pillow, and burying his face in it. Will is careful not to make too much noise as more tears start pouring from his eyes.

 

All of this, was his fault.

 

At first, the mornings of leaving for school and the afternoons of coming home were hectic as various news networks continued to crowd around and pester Will and his family. Eventually, just as his mother predicated, less and less trucks appeared as the weeks carried on. While his parents held a family celebration on the day no more news vans showed up, Will knew his troubles would never be over.

 

At Remus, he continued to face isolation, stares, and hushed whispers. No one ever picked on him, but nobody talked to him at all. Every period he would only have the company of his incessant thoughts, the mistakes of his past continually hounding him during break, lunch, or advisory period.

 

However, on the days his guilt wasn’t as prominent, Will found himself trying to piece together his own behavior. There was something that did not make sense, but he couldn’t grasp it for the life of him.

 

It all began when he accidentally overheard a group of Omegas talking at a table across from him. They were the only group of Omegas who didn’t notice him nor give him a funny look, so he assumed they were new students moving in from a different district.

 

“I mean, I just _hate_ getting heats in general, y’know?” One of them ranted. “Like, it’s so dumb! I’m not a slut, y’know? But like even though I consciously know I don’t want it, my body like betrays me--and it’s ridiculous!”

 

“Yeah,” His friend added. “Like it’s like my body is just craving to have something inside it, even though I don’t want another girl _or guy_ inside me!”

 

 _Inside?_ Will repeated to himself as he briefly glanced at them moving to a different table. _I didn’t feel like having anything inside me...right?_ Today, the boy forced himself to recall his thoughts on the day of the incident as much as he preferred not to.

 

 _I remember_ … He whips out a piece of notebook paper and pen, and starts jotting down notes. _I remember wanting to hold the Omega. And then, with the boy, it changed to...eloping…_

 

“That can’t be right…” Will mutters. Omega heats were supposed to be biological urges to have an Alpha inside them, it was what his biology class taught him, and it was proven in the videos his teacher showed. Only Alpha ruts ensued feelings of the opposite.

 

 _But Mama said I’m an Omega_ , The boy writes down the counterargument. _And Omegas can’t smell other Omegas in heat, right?_

 

When his father came to pick him up, Will scribbled more notes furiously on the piece of paper. He felt intimidated doing this, but tonight he would use the Private Mode on his computer to look up questions. He usually told his parents everything, but this was one of the few things he knew he couldn’t talk about. They wouldn’t know what to think.

 

“You’re being pretty quiet today, _hijo_ ,” Wilfred comments, noticing his son is focused on the piece of paper on the drive home. “Are you okay?”

 

“ _Estoy bien_.” Will replies automatically, not looking away from his paper.

 

“School project?”

 

“Yeah…” He nods. “School project.”

 

After finishing homework, eating dinner, and saying goodnight to his parents, Will locks his bedroom door, turns off the lights, and opens up his laptop. He then checks that his audio is muted before toggling Private Mode and typing in, ‘ _Can Omegas smell another Omega’s heat?_ ‘

The first result is an article written by a biology professor from university; immediately, Will clicks on it and the first sentence he reads is all he needs.

 

“Only Alphas can smell other Omegas.” He repeats slowly. Will peers down at his paper through the computer monitor’s glaring light at the T-chart he made during the car ride home, one side is labeled Omega, the other is labeled Alpha.

 

“Only one thing makes me an Omega,” Will clenches the paper, wrinkling it. “But everything else points to an Alpha.”

 

In a foreign rage, he rips up the piece of paper and chucks it at the screen. The Omega buries his face into his arms, _What am I? What is wrong with me?! Why am I abnormal, why couldn’t I just be like everyone else?!_

 

As time went on, Will nearly forgot that his school year was coming to an end. Every day was just the same old routine, so he never noticed time had been passing until he glanced at a posted calendar on the way to History class and saw that the standardized exams were coming up.

 

After eating dinner, he was about to do more nightly research on a potential lead when Ichika stops him from leaving.

 

“Will, sweetie, stick around for a bit,” She gestures him to sit back down in his chair. “We have some news for you.”

 

Worried, Will immediately does as he’s told, “...Is something wrong?”

 

“No, not all!” Wilfred cheers. “Come on, Chica! Show him the photo of the place.”

 

Will blinks in surprise, “Place?”

 

“Here,” Ichika grabs a photograph of a large, two-story house located near a creek. “We’re moving to a new house!”

 

“Wh…” Will is stunned. “What? But…”

 

“ _Hijo_ ,” His father pats him gently on the shoulder. “I know it seems scary, but I don’t want you being in an area surrounded by people who only see you for what you did in self-defense and that’s it. By moving to another place, you can get a brand new start! Make friends who accept you for you are, have experience in a different living area!”

 

“And,” Ichika adds. “It’s nearby a large creek We can go out hiking, catch bugs, and maybe find some snakes! Doesn’t that sound like fun?”

 

“Yeah…” Will agrees softly. “It does.”

 

Wilfred frowns, “You don’t sound excited.”

 

“I-I am,” He stammers. “I just…” He trails off, trying to find a way to answer his parents with a half truth without breaking down into tears. “I just feel like this is...I caused this.”

 

“William, no!” Ichika immediately stands up and embraces him with a tight hug. “I told you before, _none_ of this is your fault! Weren’t you listening?”

 

“ _Hijo_ ,” Wilfred joins in on the embrace. “I know it may seem like it, but your mama’s right. You didn’t cause anything, we planned to move to a different neighborhood for your high school anyway. Now, we _really_ want to move so we can get you away from all this, from all this judgment and unwanted attention.”

 

“That’s right,” Ichika grimaces in disgust. “Are the kids at your school afraid of people who break the norms, Will?”

 

“ _Hai._ ”

 

“ _Yappari._ ” Ichika replies with a smirk of confidence. “That’s why we’re moving, so you can be around new people who won’t have pre-made judgments about you--you can have friends who accept you for being a strong Omega!”

 

“Okay.” Will replies, his voice muffled as his face is buried in both his mother and father’s clothes. After one last moment of embrace, they both send him off upstairs to get ready for bed.

 

 _Don’t believe them._ The boy tells himself as he looks at his reflection in the mirror while brushing his teeth. _This is all your fault because you couldn’t keep your hands to yourself, and you’re unnatural. There’s something wrong with you, and it’s all your fault. If they knew who you truly were, they would understand._

 

After calling out goodnight to his parents one last time, Will heads for his bedroom and quietly locks his door. He then plugs in headphones, turns the volume all the way down on the PC, and pulls up Private mode once again.

 

 _Alright._ He braces himself, never browsing the more perverse side of the internet before in all his life. _You’re doing this for answers. There has to be an answer as to what I am, I need to understand what is wrong with me._

 

Will types in the search bar ‘omegas penetrating alphas’, and taps the enter key. Much to his surprise, a moderate amount of results pop up. Curious, he decides to check out the images section instead. At first, he reels back at the lewd screenshots before him, but after getting used to the shock, and filtering out the results only to show naked males instead of females, Will sees the results are legitimate images of an Omega penetrating an Alpha during sex.

 

Now even more intrigued, he clicks on the website tab and decides to browse the first link that popped up. Upon reading the first sentence, he wanted to jump for joy:

 

_Date: 06-20-XXXX Devvie-Mega posted:_

 

_Hello all!_

 

 _Alright, so as long-time followers of my blog then all of you probably saw this coming; I’m going to talk about the taboo every Alpha and Omega_ **_never_ ** _wants to talk about: Omegas penetrating Alphas._

 

Will did a silent fist pump of happiness in the dark room. Finally, he wasn’t alone in being an Omega that had behavior that deviated from his biology! There were other people out there who were “unnatural,” just like himself.

 

He eagerly scrolled through the blog, making hushed comments of “Yes!” and “That’s exactly how I feel!” as the poster covered topics and feelings that he related to. For once, it looked like things were taking a turn for the better since the incident.

 

 _Yeah, I’m okay with this._ He quietly closes his laptop and hops into bed with a small smile on his face. _I’m just an Omega that likes penetrating Omegas, and it’s okay to feel that way because there are people that are just like me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! I have been very busy as of late, and this chapter was hard to write since I had to bring up a lot of issues that hit close to home. Regardless, I hope y’all enjoyed!
> 
> Yappari - Japanese for “I knew it” (roughly). 
> 
> Ittekimasu - Japanese for “We’re leaving!”, used in the context that the persons are leaving the house (roughly).
> 
> Itterasshai! - Japanese for “take care!” (roughly).
> 
> Hai - Japanese phrase used for agreement or “yes” (roughly).
> 
> Hijo - Spanish for “son”.
> 
> Listo - Spanish for “ready” (as in ready to go/prepared). 
> 
> Estoy bien - Spanish for “I am fine”. 
> 
> Sí - Spanish for “yes”. 
> 
> Adiós - Spanish for “Goodbye!”
> 
> ¡Es terrible, ese! - Spanish for “It’s terrible, dude!” 
> 
> Esposa - Spanish for “wife”. 
> 
> Perrito - Spanish for “puppy”, or literally translated "little dog". In my Omegaverse interpretation, “puppy” is used in the same affectionate context as “little boy” or “young man”, etc. 
> 
> Ten cuidado - Spanish for “be careful” (roughly).
> 
> ¡Rápido, rápido! - Spanish phrase used to tell someone to hurry, literally translated as “quick, quick!” 
> 
> “Qué está pasando, ¿quiénes son estos hijos de puta?” - Spanish for “What’s going on, who are these motherfuckers?” 
> 
> Lo entiendes? - Spanish for “Do you understand?”. 
> 
> Lo se. - Spanish for “I know”.


	5. The Secret

The days at school became a lot more bearable for Will. Having found out he wasn’t the only Omega in the world that had urges to penetrate, the usual isolation and stares had much less of a degrading effect on him. Sure, he was different from the typical Omega at school, but that wasn’t including the apparently thirty plus people online as well.

 

The users on the website lived in different areas and time zones, but for Will, their comments and discussions alone were his moral support. Now armed with a renewed sense of hope, the school days seemed to go by a lot faster. Before he knew it, Will found himself going to bed early since his history and English exams were tomorrow.

 

The Kiyabu house was a slight mess as boxes littered the upper and lower floors. Half of the items that once occupied Will’s room and his parents’ were now stored away, leaving a vacant space. By the time he was taking his last exams for the year, Will could hear an echo as he walked around in the house, due to the lack of furniture and the like. The house looked brand new, as if the family had never been occupying it for six years.

 

“Are you going to miss this place, sweetie?” Ichika asks her son, affectionately wrapping her arm around his shoulder and pulling him in close.

 

Will didn’t know what to say. Sure he had many fond memories of this house, but the current events outweighed the positives. If anything, he was glad to move; it would be less of a reminder of how much trouble he caused his parents.

 

“I think so.” He finally answers. “But, I’ll be okay.”

 

“Good.” She kisses him on the forehead. “C’mon, your papa is waiting for us in the car.”

 

As they drove further and further away from the suburbs, Will found himself reflecting on his life up until this moment in time. He had made a huge mistake, and found out that he wasn’t a normal Omega. However, at least he knew that despite this huge mistake, he wasn’t a freak.

 

He would always feel bad about what he did to the Alpha boy. In his eyes, they were both victims of biological urges, the other just came in at the wrong time. No one deserved to have that kind of fear induced onto them, and Will swore on himself that he wouldn’t harm anyone ever again.

 

_I don’t want people to be afraid of me._ Will stares out the window, noticing the increasing number of trees and sporadic distribution of large buildings. _Never again._

 

By the time the Kiyabus had reached their new home, it was as if Will had become a new man. His game plan for school was that he would keep a low profile, and try to play less of a hero in order to avoid hurting anyone. He wasn’t sure if he would be making a lot of friends since he was a deviant Omega, but he would do his best to find a way to fit in with the Omega crowd--even if their social mannerisms were completely foreign to him.

 

The first weeks at the new school went fairly well. Surprisingly, the environment at Nkhandwe Middle School was nearly the same as Remus’, except for the fact that the kids were far more naughty and wild with their teachers. Luckily for Will, no one made him introduce himself as the new kid on his first day, and class began with the passing out of syllabuses and forms for his parents to sign.

 

The new house took some getting used to as it was much smaller, and only one story. However, it had plenty of room to house all of the Kiyabu’s belongings and after a few days of getting used to pulling the door to open it instead of pushing it, Will settled in comfortably.

 

At school, Will stuck to his word and drew little attention to himself. He sat in the back row in all of his classes, and aside from lending a helping hand when someone dropped a pencil or needed the door open, he essentially was a wallflower. At one point, a kid in his math class tried to approach him and strike up a conversation.

 

Despite his mother’s wishes, Will excused himself to go to the bathroom and stayed there until the bell rang for dismissal. He knew she wanted him to make friends, but the Omega couldn’t ignore the risk of repeating his past mistakes. He was ill-qualified to be a friend, but Will couldn’t even tell his mother the truth as to why.

 

At the very least, the online blogs of various Omegas that shared his Alpha-like urges gave him solace. While he would still be haunted by his past occasionally, the boy was reaching a somewhat stable middle ground when it came to his mental health. He was slowly starting to see himself as less of a freak and more of someone who was just “different.”

 

Several months pass, and Will has now established himself in both his new school and his new neighborhood. At school he’s the nice but awfully quiet Omega that warrants some attention from maybe one or two curious people, and the neighbors know him for being the sweet, “tomboy” Omega who didn’t mind getting his clothes dirty.

 

On one particular afternoon, Will is finishing up his homework when he hears his mother call him from the kitchen. Immediately, he drops his pencil and dashes over to her as quickly as he can, “Mama?”

 

Ichika gestures to the three boxes leaned up against the kitchen wall, “Please help out mama and carry one of these to the garage. Your papa is going to put them up in the attic.”

 

“ _Hai!_ ” Will nods and instinctively grabs the biggest box in the stack. Out of nowhere, Ichika suddenly rushes to his side and takes the box from him.

 

“Will, honey,” The Alpha explains, her eyes looking a little pained at her son’s confusion. “I know you’re used to being an Alpha, but you’re an Omega. It’s not happening now, but soon your muscles aren’t going to be as strong as they are now and I don’t want you hurting yourself.”

 

“O-oh…” Will responds, unsure of how to take her statement.

 

“It’s okay, Will,” Ichika reassures and gestures to the second biggest box. “I know you’re a strong Omega--so just take that box instead.”

 

As the boy grabs the second biggest box, his mother adds, “Oh, and Will?”

 

“Yes Mama?”

 

“Don’t _ever_ listen to anyone who says you can’t do things because you’re an Omega.” She rolls her eyes, as if reliving a bad memory. There is a slight pause before she lets out a sigh, upset with herself for doing the same thing that had been done to her as a child, “Even me. And for that, I’m sorry; I just don’t want you getting hurt. So, here.”

 

She places the box she took back down with the others, “Grab whatever box you want, just be very careful, okay?”

 

“Okay, Mama.” Will responds as he takes the largest box once more and carries it to the garage. As he makes his way down the hall and through the laundry room, the initial statement made by his mother weighs heavily on Will’s mind. Even though she apologized for boxing him into a gender role, that wasn’t what he had an issue with. Something felt wrong about being called an Omega in general.

 

_But I am an Omega._ Will argues with himself as he closes the garage door behind him, making his way back to his room. _So why would I feel weird about being called what I am?_

 

Something in Will told him to leave the issue be. After all, he had _finally_ found a niche of common ground despite being severely different than the majority of Omega kids. He didn’t want to face loneliness again, nor undergo the judgmental stares he received back at Remus. If all of these issues could be avoided by not thinking about one little thing bothering him, then Will happily obliged. It wasn’t worth the emotional turmoil to question what he was feeling any further.

 

_I’m an Omega._ Will tells himself firmly as he opens up a history book to study. _All of this is normal, because that’s what I am. I’m not an Alpha._

 

For a few months, Will’s new life went smoothly. However, Ichika did eventually find out that her son was avoiding people who approached him like the plague. Concerned for his mental health, she confronts him about it one day when picking him up from school.

 

“Will, I know you love the company of other people,” She explains. “So it’s very worrying to me when I see you acting like this. You’re hardly the type to isolate yourself like this!”

 

“I know.” He answers, unable to say anything more without risking his mother finding out his true intentions at Remus.

 

“Then, why the sudden change, sweetie?” Ichika presses him further. Though she has been keeping quiet, she could tell something was ailing her son, and she wanted to get to the bottom of it.

 

Will tells her the only half-truth he can think up of, “I just don’t want so much attention anymore.”

 

At this, Ichika is visibly upset but rather than saying anything, she only nods her head in understanding, “Okay.”

 

As the weeks go by, Will slowly adjusts and becomes more comfortable with his Omega identity. Recently, on the blog created by Devvie-Mega, he was elated to see that an _Omoiga_ posted a comment stating that they felt the same urges as well. That, combined with viewing blogs of other Omegas similar to himself, further pushed Will’s feeling of ease with himself.

 

He now had a sense of belonging, and while it was not present in-person, the worldwide web dictated otherwise. For once, in a long time, he manages to flash a smile as he opens the door for another student, without feeling like a hypocrite.

 

Then years later, during his first year at Lobrosia High School, it happened again. As Will was changing for a piano recital practice in the boys’ locker room, he couldn’t but notice how _thin_ his body looked compared to last year. His hips looked more _curvy_ , and his face was much more rounded than it used to be; it was as if he was transforming into the lanky Omegas he found attractive at school.

 

And, just like the time from Nkhandwe, all of this felt inexplicably _wrong_ when it should have felt natural. For the life him, Will had no idea why he felt nauseous as he looked at his upper body in the mirror. What he did know, was that he couldn’t bear to stare at himself any longer and quickly got dressed to escape, remedying the situation temporarily.

 

Unlike the first time he felt these feelings, Will wasn’t able to stop thinking about it after leaving school. It gnawed at him to the point he had to steel himself and turn to his father for answers. Later on in the evening, just as Wilfred wishes him goodnight, Will finally forces himself to ask, “Papa?”

 

“ _Sí_.”

 

“Is my body supposed to be this...small?”

 

His father laughs a little, “Yes, that just means you’re becoming more of an Omega!”

 

“So, it’s normal? To have thinner arms?” Will confirms, clutching one of his arms apprehensively.

 

“Of course it is!” Wilfred reassures him, gently patting him on the head. “I know it seems strange for you, _hijo_ , but you’ll get used to it.”

 

“Did you…” Will pauses, trying to find a way to ask without raising more questions. “Did you feel weird about your body, Papa?”

 

The older Omega sighs, “Ah, no, I can’t say I was. I mean, perhaps getting used to the hair growth in some places was a little weird, but I felt fine otherwise.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“But,” He leans in and kisses his son’s forehead. “I know your situation’s a little different, _niñito_ , because…”

 

“I know, Papa.” Will cuts him off, not really wanting to hear anything about his past Alpha life. For some reason, he feels like it’ll bring back the weird thoughts again. “ _Muchas gracias, oyasuminasai._ “

 

His father flashes him an apologetic smile before heading out of the room, “ _De nada. Buenas noches niñito_. “

 

Will lays in his bed, surrounded by darkness, trying to rationalize everything he felt during the day.

 

_Why does my body feel wrong to me_ ? He tosses and turns in a sleepless battle. _I’m an Omega, so I should be okay with it, right? Shouldn’t I be like Papa, and have no problems with it? ...I keep telling myself this, but it’s not going away. Everything feels so wrong, and I don’t understand why._

 

The Omega knows it’s getting late, and he has a test tomorrow. He decides to try to leave the issue be once more, and forces himself to fall asleep.

 

*****

 

Things only grew worse for Will after that day.

 

Weeks later, as he was walking with his mother at the local mall, Will suddenly caught the scent of something sweet. Immediately, he could recognize the familiar sensation of being in a trance, just like he had at Remus. Unlike Remus, the scent is strong; so strong that Will feels like clutching his mother’s arm for dear life to prevent himself from following it.

 

_I am in heat right now,_ He looks down at the ground, knowing that if he looked anywhere else he’d immediately take off after the Omega. _An Omega’s heat; I took my pill this morning and in the afternoon. I am an Omega, why am I feeling this why? Why am I smelling another Omega, if I’m not supposed to?_

 

Nothing was making sense, and the scent was only getting stronger. The young Omega began to panic, he would rather die than repeat the mistake he made back in middle school.

 

“Mama,” Will tugs at his mother’s arm as gently as he can muster. _“Katei ni ikasete kudasai?”_

 

“Just a few more minutes, Will,” She pats his shoulder without looking, focused on the line they’re waiting in. “I know you don’t like shopping for these kind of clothes, but your Mama wanted to buy a little treat for your Papa.”

 

The young Omega’s feels like his legs are about to move on their own accord. It is as if the scent is taking over his body, and Will is slowly losing conscious control of it. He clutches his mother’s arms, digs his nails in, and shakily pleads, _“Kudasai.”_

 

At this, Ichika immediately looks at her son and doesn’t object any further. Will’s face is paled, his eyes are dilated, he is visibly shaking, and he looks like he is sweating bullets. She quickly ditches the outfit she planned to buy, and takes Will back to the car.

 

“Will, stay calm,” She orders as she goes a little faster than the speed limit on the drive away from the mall. “I’ll take you to the hospital…”

 

“NO!” Will shouts instinctively. “S-sorry, no! It’s okay, just take me back home.”

 

“Take you back home?” Ichika grips the wheel, trying not to get upset with him. “You look like you need medical attention, Will!”

 

“Just please take me home.” Will insists desperately. “I’ll be fine.”

 

“...” Ichika narrows her eyes. “I’ll take you home. _But we’re going to have a talk.”_

 

Will swallows, his hand digging into his seat, “... _Hai.”_

 

About an hour after they arrived home, Ichika enters Will’s room with another glass of chamomile tea, “Are you feeling okay now, Will?”

 

He nods in response, “...I’ll take another glass just in case.

 

By now, the scent had finally left Will’s nose, along with the desires to go after the Omega. The only thing that remained of his rut was his slightly increased heart rate, which had been much more intense when he and his mother finally arrived home.

 

Ichika sets the glass down on Will’s desk, and closes the door behind her. Instinctively, Will scoots over on his bed to make room for her to sit down.

 

As soon as she’s settled in her spot, Ichika faces her son, “What happened to you at the mall?”

 

“I just didn't feel good, Mama.” Will prays that she’ll leave the issue be.

 

“You ‘just didn't feel good’?!” She repeats back incredulously, her voice now raised. “William, you looked like you were about to have a panic attack--out of nowhere! And then you tell me not to take you to the hospital on the way home?!”

 

“I…” Will tries to make up an excuse, but cannot think of anything. Not without her finding out everything.

 

“What are you not telling me?”

 

“Nothing.” The boy is unable to look at her directly in the eye.

 

“William Coronado Kiyabu,” Ichika now stands up, and forces her son to look at her. “Ever since Remus, I have seen a troubled look on your face. I will admit that, yes, lately it hasn't been as bad; however, up until then you look like you're bothered by something. I didn't want to push you further because I knew that accident scarred you, but I can't stand watching you suffer any longer.”

 

“Mama,” Will begs. “It's nothing, I'll be fine….”

 

“Stop. Saying. That.” Ichika snaps angrily. “It is _not_ fine, you are _not_ fine--do you not trust me?”

 

“I-I do…”

 

“Then why won't you tell me what's hurting you?!” The anger in her voice is now mixed in with sobs as she starts crying in front of the young Omega. “Do you know how much it hurts me to see you acting like a shell of yourself?! You isolate yourself from other people, and you just spend the rest of your days cooped in your room doing Rom'lus knows what after homework!”

 

Will is now tearing up as well, “Mama, I’m sorry…”

 

“Why won’t you talk to me?!” She screams. “Or your father?! We love you, can’t you see that? We want to help you, but you refuse to let us! What is hurting you, Will?! Tell me so I can stop seeing you in pain, so I can stop thinking you suddenly hate us for no reason, and so I can stop being in pain because of your silence!”

 

Will can only choke on his tears, “ _Lo s-sientonasai…”_

 

Ichika lets out a roar of anger and hurt before storming out of his room and slamming the door. Will curls up into a ball and sobs into the sheets as he can hear his mother crying to his father in living room.   
  
_If I could tell you two what was going on, Mama, I would...but I can’t. I’m protecting you from the shame of finding out your son is unnatural, because I love you._

  
*

A couple of hours pass before Will hears a knock on his bedroom door. Wiping his eyes, and swallowing, he adjusts his glasses as he walks over to the door and unlocks it.   


“...Mama?”

  
“ _Musuko,”_ Ichika kneels down, her voice sounding drained and shaky--likely from crying. “Let me reiterate myself here...I _know_ something is hurting you. For months, I have been feeling and seeing it every time I look at you, talk to you, watch you leave with your father.”

 

She takes a moment to breathe, “And while it breaks my hear that you don’t want to tell me right now, because I don’t like seeing you in pain, I respect that. Just _please_ remember that I love you, okay ? Even if I may not understand what you are going through, I am _there_ for you. I will never judge or laugh at anything you tell me.”

 

“ _Hai._ ”

 

“And Will?” She adds before he turns around to leave.

 

“Yes, Mama?”

 

“Whenever you do tell me what’s hurting you, I promise you I’m going to help you in whatever way I can.” She hugs him tightly, her voice nearly breaking again. “Okay? I love you, sweetie. _Aishiteru…_ ”

 

“ _Boku mo_.” Will whispers before she lets go. He then quietly retreats into his room, gently closing the door and lying on his bed.

 

He still felt like a terrible human being for hurting his mother, but at least she was able to recover--even if, to him, she still looked like she needed more time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Sorry this chapter took so long to come out, I’ve been very busy with university this semester. Luckily, the semester’s coming to an end, which means more time for me to write. ^^ Thanks so much to anyone who’s still keeping up with this story, I truly appreciate it!
> 
> Translations:  
> Hai - Japanese for "yes."
> 
> Sí - Spanish for "yes."
> 
> Hijo - Spanish for "son."
> 
> "Muchas gracias, oyasuminasai." - Will's portmanteau of Spanish and Japanese, roughly translates to "Thank you, goodnight."
> 
> "De nada. Buenas noches niñito." - Spanish for "You're welcome, good night little boy."
> 
> "Katei ni ikasete kudasai?" - Japanese for “can we go home please?”
> 
> "Kudasai?" - Japanese for "please."
> 
> "Lo s-sientonasai…" - Will's portmanteau of Spanish and Japanese for "I'm sorry."
> 
> "Musuko" - Japanese for "son."
> 
> "Aishiteru…" - Japanese for "I love you."
> 
> "Boku mo" - Japanese for "Me too." in Will's context he is saying "I love you too" in response to his mom.


End file.
